In Arendelle's Fair Kingdom
by Lindstrom
Summary: *Queen Elsa's Councilor series.* *Cover art by nirnaeth12.* Queen Elsa's polite romance with her Councilor is interrupted by a foreign prince claiming King Agdar betrothed Elsa to him. Elsa and Bern are plunged into war and turmoil as ghosts from the past collide with enemies from Weselton and the Southern Isles, and pit Elsa in a showdown against a most unexpected foe.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Notes: This is the finale story for the "Queen Elsa's Councilor" series, and the plot and character development draw heavily from previous stories. If you're new to the series, I suggest reading at least: "Queen Elsa's Councilor," and "Christmas Day in Arendelle" before starting this one. I also wrote a childhood story, "Frozen Lies" in which I wrote Agdar and Idun as bad guys. That matters a lot in this story. (You can read "Frozen Lies" if you want to, but I warn you that it is terribly depressing, probably the saddest thing I've ever written, so skip it if you want. You can pick up the events in that story from this one.)  
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**The cover art was created by nirnaeth12; right now it's a sketch. She's working on a more detailed version, which will also eventually be posted on her website at Deviantart. Search her artist name, Deidale. Full-size versions of all the art she's created for this series can be found there. Many thanks to her for sharing her talent!**

**Arendelle and the cast of the movie "Frozen" belong to Disney. Thanks Disney!**

**This first chapter is between two OCs, but they talk about the movie characters, and all subsequent chapters have at least one movie character in them.  
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**Chapter 1 – Ghosts From the Past**

Lord Councilor Gustav of Arendelle, the head of foreign relations, gave up pretending to look at the letter on his desk that presented his unsolvable dilemma and went to look out the window instead. The bright scent of a summer day floated into the castle through the open window. His office overlooked the open fjord. While he could hear the waves crashing against the castle island below his window, the angle was wrong to see them. The fjord was steel gray today, under a blue summer sky. The wind whipped whitecaps onto the swell, reaching for the horizon in a pattern that changed so constantly that its variety became monotonous. To his right, Gustav could see the mountains descending into the water with barely a beach at their foot.

It was a beautiful, yet inhospitable, place for a kingdom. With barely enough flat land to grow food for its own inhabitants, Arendelle had never done more than scratch out a decent living. The breadbasket of Europe's flatlands produced enough to make its countries fat with the land's excess. The resources of England produced the industry that was making it rich. France and Easthaven had their military wealth, coupled with the tax burden to support it. Portugal's wealth was boosted by its location on the world's trade currents, a crossroads for merchants from all over the globe. Arendelle was not only the strange cousin of Europe, they were also the poor cousin. Without a tax base strong enough to finance a military, Arendelle relied on its obscurity and its defense alliance treaty with Easthaven to keep invaders at bay. Who would bother a country like Arendelle? There was little to be gained here.

That was why the letter from Prince Dominic of Easthaven made no sense to him. It was a reasonable request, surely he could acknowledge that, and the benefit to be gained was all for Arendelle. He could not decipher Easthaven's motive, other than the one they stated, which was hardly the real reason. As one of Arendelle's senior statesmen, it was his duty to do everything in his power to accommodate Easthaven's civil request for the good of Arendelle. But the father in him rebelled against it. Gustav had never been able to separate the fatherly concern he felt for Arendelle's royal sisters from his duties as statesman. When those roles had conflicted before, the fatherly role always won. But the sisters had grown up, and he couldn't shelter them forever.

There was a knock at the study door and Lord High Councilor Rodmund entered. They'd been friends more than thirty years, and served half that time together in the government.

"You look confused enough that I will hazard a guess that you're trying to decide on either invitations or seating arrangements for Princess Anna's wedding," Rodmund said in lieu of a greeting.

Ah, yes, his other unsolvable dilemma. If only he'd been able to tell himself to appreciate the simplicity of that problem before the messenger ship brought the letter from Easthaven. One only appreciated past difficulties when they were eclipsed by present difficulties.

"I cannot, in good conscience, refuse to let the trolls attend," Gustav said. "Perhaps I would have tried to insist if I hadn't known them. But you'll recall Kristoff kindly volunteered my wife and myself to work with his troll parents in planning the wedding."

Rodmund tried to stifle laughter, but failed. "Realistically, you would have helped plan the wedding if Princess Anna had contracted a more conventional foreign marriage as well. Think of the trolls as Transylvanians. Perhaps that will help."

"At least the Transvylanians are human. Trolls at a wedding will be a foreign relations disaster for Arendelle. We can't afford a second foreign relations disaster only one year after the disaster of Queen Elsa's coronation," Gustav fretted.

"Do you know, Gustav, I believe you're assuming that other countries are as normal as they appear. Certainly, we have an ice queen, trolls, and a future royal husband whom everyone believes to have magical control of a mountain, but how do you know other countries aren't hiding dragons? I've heard rumors about Romania," Rodmund said, amused at Gustav's concern.

"Do the dragons expect to attend a state wedding?" Gustav asked in exasperation. "I've been working since last summer to try and convince the rest of the world that a hard freeze in July was an aberration and Arendelle is usually normal. But if our foreign allies are all invited to Princess Anna's wedding, and we seat them next to a troll, how can we possibly expect them to do business with us? They'll leave faster than they departed after Queen Elsa thawed the harbor."

"Tell the trolls they can't attend the wedding," Rodmund suggested in his gravelly voice.

Gustav sighed and gave him an unhappy look. "That will disappoint Kristoff, Princess Anna, and the trolls themselves."

Rodmund's wrinkled face creased into a smile. "And here we come to the real problem: you're much too soft to be a politician, Gustav. If the feelings of individuals matter more to you than Arendelle's standing the world, you don't belong in government."

Gustav nodded at Rodmund's assessment of his character. "If I'd wanted to be that sort of politician, Adele and I would have gone back to France."

"Personally, I'm glad you're here in Arendelle then. We don't need to be like France," Rodmund said. "If you'd care to hear it, I have a string of hypotheticals that eventually become a suggestion."

"I'm listening."

"Perhaps Princess Anna's wedding is not a formal state event requiring attendance from every neighboring nation. Perhaps it is merely the quiet wedding of a younger sister who chose a politically insignificant husband and Arendelle does not want to brag about that fact. Perhaps the fact that most of the world will be invited to the eminently proper marriage of Queen Elsa the following month would mollify them to the fact that they are not invited to Princess Anna's wedding as well," Rodmund said. "Princess Anna and Kristoff's wedding need only be a local celebration, so as to not upstage our monarch's wedding."

Gustav merely raised an eyebrow, but he shut the door to his study before replying. "Have things progressed that far between Queen Elsa and Bern? My observations have turned up only friendship, which is a relief given the frosty distance that prevailed between them before Christmas, but is still only friendship."

"Yes, there is that slight obstacle," Rodmund admitted. "Bern is patient, and while that's part of the reason we chose him, it does seem to be slowing things down."

"Bern may be content to marry sometime in the next decade, but I doubt Kristoff will wait so long," Gustav said drily. "Do you think we should tell Bern the real reason we appointed him to the Council over a dozen candidates with better qualifications?"

"I'm not sure that's necessary yet. I'd rather he think the romance with Queen Elsa was their own idea. Is there another way to light a fire under him?" Rodmund asked.

"There's an entire conflagration coming, Rodmund. Read the letter on my desk," Gustav answered.

Gustav sat down on the window seat and leaned his chin into his hands, stroking his black goatee, while Rodmund picked up the letter sitting in the middle of his desk and read it. The cheer disappeared from Rodmund's eyes, and he suddenly looked as old as he was.

"Did we commit treason, Gustav?" Rodmund asked quietly as he set the letter back down. He sat down on the chair and his head landed in his hands.

"It didn't seem so at the time," Gustav replied, equally quietly. "You can't betray a dead man, and King Agdar was dead by the time we burned Princess Elsa's betrothal agreement. Our loyalty had shifted by then to the Crown Princess and Arendelle itself. I understand King Agdar's thinking, but he was depending on himself to make the alliance work. Once he was gone, that marriage would have been a disaster for Arendelle, and a terrible tragedy for Princess Elsa herself."

"How many lies did we tell?" Rodmund asked.

"You mean how many lies did _I _tell," Gustav corrected him, looking out the window again at the white capped waves.

"I was here with you when we put every betrothal document that we could find with King Agdar's signature on it into the fire, right over there," Rodmund said, pointing at Gustav's fireplace. The fire had gone out on this warm, early summer afternoon. "If there is any fallout, you won't weather it alone."

"Thank you, my friend," Gustav said, more relieved than he would want to admit. Rodmund was generous to offer to share responsibility, but Gustav was the one who had searched King Agdar's private study, turning up every paper he could find between King Agdar and Prince Dominic of Easthaven and then taking it to Rodmund. After the fact, he'd wished he'd paid more attention to the correspondence between King Agdar and Weselton as well. Weselton had been their closest partner in trade because of King Agdar's policies, and he wished he knew more of that history. But he'd let the opportunity pass him by in the press of other concerns. He supposed the documents were boxed up in a storage room somewhere if he really wanted to find them at this point.

Gustav counted up the lies. "We lied to the other Councilors about how far the betrothal discussions had progressed. We lied to Prince Dominic of Easthaven and all their advisors when we wrote to them that King Agdar experienced a last minute change of heart and refused to sign anything binding before he departed on his fatal voyage. We lied by silence to Crown Princess Elsa. She never asked us about it, Rodmund. Does that mean King Agdar had really never told her he was arranging her marriage? Or was she too afraid to find out what would happen?"

"Based on knowing King Agdar, he never told her," Rodmund replied. "His daughters were only ever told what to do; they were never consulted."

"May he rest in peace," Gustav ground out, his jaw clenched and his eyes bright with anger. He had too many daughters of his own to miss the way King Agdar treated his daughters.

"None of us knew what he was dealing with, Gustav. Surely even you would have been rattled and may have shown poor judgment if one of your five daughters had turned up with powers like Queen Elsa's," Rodmund pointed out.

"I've shown poor judgment, Rodmund. There's no question that a man who raises children is going to show poor judgment more often than he would like. But I did not pursue that poor judgment for ten years, refusing to evaluate the consequences of my bad decision and lacking the courage to admit I'd done the wrong thing. I can forgive King Agdar for his initial decision to lock away his own daughter and estrange her from her sister. What I can't forgive is the fact that it continued for ten years! And by the end of those ten years, he'd crushed Princess Elsa's spirit so thoroughly that even after he was dead, she stayed in hiding for three more years. Three years, Rodmund! And he wasn't even around to enforce her isolation anymore! She was so afraid of his memory that she stayed away from us, away from her sister, away from anyone that could help her.

"Do you know how badly you have to frighten a girl to break her trust with everyone around her? Do you know how badly you have to frighten a girl so that when she does reveal her secret, she runs away to the mountains, planning to live alone for the rest of her life, rather than believe anyone would possibly help her? Queen Elsa wouldn't be nearly as terrified of herself if her father hadn't taught her that she was a terrible monster, unfit to associate with other humans, Rodmund!" Gustav had gotten up to pace, his anger too much to let him hold still.

Rodmund had heard this rant before, on more than one occasion. "At least we were able to save her from the marriage he'd arranged for her," Rodmund said.

Gustav stabbed his finger towards the letter on his desk. "And now he's coming anyway! It's been four years – Prince Dominic was supposed to have married someone else by now. He'll come to our shores with the drafts of the betrothal arrangements that had already gone to Easthaven and all the arguments that persuaded King Agdar that a marriage between Arendelle and Easthaven could benefit Arendelle. Do you really think Queen Elsa wouldn't sacrifice her own happiness if she thought it would benefit her kingdom? How long has she done that already? We saved her from that marriage, but this time she'll have to save herself and quite frankly, I'm not sure she'll do it."

"Another silent queen," Rodmund said. "She's got her father's intelligence, but her mother's quiet personality. If she marries Prince Dominic, Arendelle will become nothing more than a tributary of Easthaven. And Queen Elsa will become like her mother, the queen who never speaks for fear of arguing with her husband. She's been trained for a marriage like that by her parents' example."

"But at least we'll have the military protection we can't afford to provide for ourselves," Gustav said bitterly, repeating the argument that King Agdar had used.

"What is his motive? Why does Prince Dominic want to court Queen Elsa? The advantage is all one-sided. We never did find out what King Agdar had promised to Easthaven to bring about the match," Rodmund said.

"You saw the letter – he's heard of her beauty," Gustav replied with a dismissive laugh.

Rodmund didn't even bother with that one. "Why does Easthaven want to absorb Arendelle? What do we have that they could possibly want? We already ship them lumber as part of our defense alliance treaty for building their navy. We don't have anything else that could tempt them."

Gustav shook his head. "I don't know. But I would dearly love to greet him with news of Queen Elsa's legally binding betrothal to Bern by the time he arrives. We could present him with a wedding invitation at the dock and an apology that he wasted his time sailing here."

Rodmund nodded. "We chose Bern for Queen Elsa because he is so gentle and patient, but perhaps we do need to find a way to hurry him along."

Gustav heaved a long sigh. "I must tell Queen Elsa of Prince Dominic's request for an audience with her to present his suit. We've had an understanding in the past that I was to turn down prospective suitors without bringing each one to her attention, but now that she is crowned and of age, I need more specific instruction about her wishes."

"Have you gotten many of those letters since her coronation?" Rodmund asked.

"This is the first," Gustav said. He gave Rodmund a wicked grin. "There was a veritable flood of courtship requests in the year leading up to her coronation, and then for some odd reason, suitors made themselves scarce."

"Yet another benefit of being the strange cousins of Europe," Rodmund commented.

"After the council meeting, let's have a talk with Bern about his intentions towards Queen Elsa. We may not need to tell him about the betrothal that never was if we find out that they've already come to a private agreement and are holding back a public announcement to allow Princess Anna her time in the spotlight," Gustav said.

"You're as good as Princess Anna at making up happy endings to fairy tales," Rodmund told him.

"Yes, I am. After we talk to Bern, we'll tell Queen Elsa about this letter from Easthaven. Come then, let's get to the council meeting. I understand Bern has submitted four items to the agenda about the economy," Gustav said.

"He has," Rodmund confirmed.

"There's nothing like a long morning discussing economics to damp down fears about foreign relations," Gustav said.

"It will give us the opportunity to discern Queen Elsa's feelings for Bern," Rodmund pointed out as he got the door.

Gustav raised his eyebrows in a question.

"If she can remain awake and attentive through hours of listening to Bern talk about the economy, we'll know she's passionately in love with him," Rodmund said. "If she dozes off, we'll start worrying."

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**Chapters will be posted on Tuesdays and Fridays.** **Reviews are appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2 - Weselton's Revenge

**Chapter 2 – Weselton's Revenge**

Queen Elsa decided that the fun thing about watching Lord Councilor Bern talk about economics was how excited he got. Economics genuinely interested him, which was a good thing since he was her Councilor over Economic Affairs. Economics had its place, but right now she was much more interested in watching his hands. Bern was a musician too, and his hands had a mind of their own as they pounded down the keyboard of the piano or danced on the neck of a violin. Last night, she'd heard him at the piano in the ballroom and had slipped in to listen for a few minutes before leaving without him noticing. He played more often since Christmas. She was almost embarrassed to admit how much she liked watching him play the piano.

She was doing her best to not like him as much as she knew she liked him, because that would bring up the whole issue about how she didn't want people to touch her, not even Bern. And the fact that she liked his hands didn't mean she wanted to do anything besides watch them from a distance. She knew that if a man knew you liked him, he wanted to at least hold your hand. Then things progressed and he wanted to marry you, and then he would start acting like Kristoff did with Anna. That was a little much. Anna wasn't even at this council meeting today because Kristoff had gotten back from a trip to the mountains last night and she wanted to spend the day with him. Elsa excused her from the meeting, then sent Olaf to chaperone them. They hated that.

Anna's absence meant she could watch Bern's hands as much as she wanted without anyone noticing and teasing her about it later. Anna was at that obnoxious stage in her own engagement where she thought everyone around her should also be in a relationship. If Elsa so much as commented on the weather to Bern, Anna was right there to tease her about it or make it into something it certainly wasn't. No, she didn't need Anna here to notice that she got fluttery at council meetings sometimes.

Bern talked with his hands too. He was either counting something off on his fingers, or waving his hands around, or he had his fists clenched like he did now because he was upset about something.

"The most likely explanation for the problem is smuggling," Bern said.

That word caught her attention. Elsa woke up from her contemplation of how long his fingers were and started paying attention to his words. She wondered how to ask him to repeat everything he'd just said leading up to that declaration without admitting that she'd been lost in daydreams.

"We're losing the export fees too," Bern went on. "Goods are leaving the country illegally, which circumvents our trade agreements that involve price controls. That sort of economic leakage is bad enough, but the real damage is coming from the currency being used to pay for the smuggled goods. The coins are debased. Some of the coins we've found are only at twenty percent face value. Arendelle's coins contain a measured fraction of fifty percent gold or silver. These coins are at half that or less, and yet they're being circulated at face value. At some point, the government needs to honor those coins and replace them. That bleeds value out of our treasury. But if we don't honor the coins at face value, we risk inflation as people lose faith in the value of the currency." He turned those earnest gray eyes towards her and waited for her reaction.

"Bern, do you know which country is involved in the smuggling or are the goods being sold abroad on an open market?" Elsa asked.

"Like I already said, Weselton is the most likely market, your Majesty," Bern said politely. "Weselton's coinage has always been at twenty percent value. When we had official trade relations with them, we were able to control the exchange rate to compensate for the lesser value of their coins. But if they're paying for goods under the table, they're circumventing those controls."

"It isn't too much of a surprise that some of our citizens would continue to do business with Weselton in spite of the official embargo, your Majesty," Rodmund said. "Despite our best efforts to find other markets, it is going to take more than a year to replace them. Weselton was a huge consumer of our wool and textiles."

Harold, Elsa's Councilor over tax and revenue, added, "The loss of the export fees causes problems not only because of the lost revenue to the government, but because we also lose the ability to regulate the flow of goods. Weselton is paying more illegally for our tradable textiles than honest producers can make because of those export fees."

"We're having difficulty meeting our quota of wool that we export to Lingarth under the current trade agreement," Marda added. "Some of that may be ranchers preferring to sell illegally to Weselton where profits are higher."

"Does that affect the amount of metals we import from Lingarth?" Rodmund questioned. "Is this issue going to cause us metal shortages?"

"We were already going to be shortchanged this year," Gustav said. "This morning's mail brought news from Lingarth that they're under attack again by the Southern Isles. Lord Nolan assumes they'll be blockaded at some point by their navy, which disrupts shipping."

"Lingarth is dealing with a war, and Lord Nolan writes to tell you how that will affect our trade agreement?" Elsa questioned.

"Nolan and I correspond regularly in any event, your Majesty. He's a personal friend as well as a professional contact. And Lingarth is attacked by the Southern Isles so frequently that it's ceased to be unusual for them. He mentions it as a matter of course," Gustav replied.

Bern tried to regain control of the discussion. "Do you see what Weselton is doing? If it was just ordinary smuggling, we could deal with it. But the amount of debased coinage in circulation points to a systematic attempt to undermine our economy. This is Weselton's revenge on us for the embargo, your Majesty. The Duke is a pompous fellow; he wouldn't risk a direct attack that could trigger any sort of retaliation. This underhanded scheme is exactly what I would expect from someone like the Duke of Weselton. Arendelle has never been a rich country, and this flood of debased coins trading at face value could destabilize our economy and cause us a financial crisis."

"Bern, that's a very serious accusation and prediction," Elsa said.

"Yes, your Majesty. And I wouldn't make it if I didn't have the evidence and facts to back it up. I've been tracking this issue for months now. I've brought it up before and given regular updates, but this is the first time I've been confident enough to state that our entire economy is at risk. This isn't just smuggling. Weselton is trying to bring down our financial system," Bern repeated.

"They couldn't do that without willing cooperation from important merchants in Arendelle," Elsa said. "Random smuggling by the occasional disgruntled exporter couldn't produce that much risk."

Bern was nodding. "I've been working through my contacts to find out who is organizing the smuggling on this scale. It does point to someone with a fairly extensive trade network already in place, both within Arendelle and with foreign purchasers."

"Bern, is the smuggling going both directions? Are these merchants smuggling goods back into Arendelle, or only taking cash payments of debased coinage?" Rodmund asked.

"That was the other item I put on the agenda," Bern said. "We're actually experiencing a shortage of several categories of goods that we normally import. I need help from Gustav and Harold to track down what's going on, but we're importing less than we need right now. If we experience a shortage of goods at the same time that debased coinage triggers inflation, you can imagine things could get bad very quickly. This is the sort of thing that has set off rioting in France, and attacks on the monarchy. The government is in charge of the value of the currency, and the amount we import, and we're failing on both fronts right now."

"Bern, the amount of debased coinage in circulation isn't explainable only through smuggling," Harold said in his elderly, quavering voice. "There's too much. If it was only payments for some textiles, it wouldn't be as noticeable."

"That was another item on the agenda. I believe the coins aren't entering the economy solely through smuggling," Bern said. "This is speculation at this point, but the evidence on these other points is so compelling that I feel like I need to throw out the worst-case scenario. Someone in Arendelle is deliberately working with Weselton to undermine our economy. I can't even imagine what their motive might be, but this isn't just an outside attack. We've got an economic traitor somewhere in Arendelle."

"There can't be a long list of people who are rich enough and well-connected enough to do something like that," Elsa said.

"It is a short list, true, but it's full of smart people. This isn't going to be easy to unravel, especially if I'm trying to work on the currency crisis at the same time. If we could find a motive, that would narrow things down considerably, but I don't know anyone who will personally profit by destroying our economy. I've said it before – armies and battles get the most attention, but a country lives and dies on economics," Bern said.

"Bern, tell us what you need to address this crisis on all fronts simultaneously. You've gotten our attention. Let's get you the resources you need," Rodmund said.

"Thank you, sir," Bern answered.

His further statements were interrupted when Chief Steward Kai unceremoniously opened the door. Elsa's rebuke died on her lips at the look on his face. Kai was not one who became alarmed easily.

"Your Majesty," Kai said with a deep bow, "I most humbly beg your pardon at . . ."

"Warships," boomed a large, roughly dressed man who pushed in past him. "There are warships on the horizon. We have only a few hours before Arendelle is under attack."

Elsa rose to her feet, along with her councilors. "Who are you?" she asked him.

"Your Majesty," the man said with an unskilled bow. "I am Captain Dav, a deep sea fisherman. We sighted the ships yesterday and got back here as fast as we could. They're only hours behind us. I've seen warships before. They've rams on the bowsprits, and the crows nests are built up to protect their archers. I didn't see catapults, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. Too many men on deck for an ordinary crew, too. It's an invasion force, mark my words," Dav said.

"Who can corroborate your conclusion?" Elsa asked.

"Four of my crew have served on warships. They're on their way."

Footsteps in the corridor interrupted his last words and a crowd pushed into the council chambers. Of them, Elsa recognized only Stollen, the harbormaster on the castle island.

"They're warships, your Majesty," one of the fishermen blurted. The rest looked around, gawking at the palace.

"Stollen, your thoughts," Elsa said.

Stollen took time to bow deeply. "Your Majesty. There are ships on the horizon, at least four I could count through the glass. They aren't fishing boats or merchants. I couldn't see their configuration well enough at that distance to corroborate all of Dav's observations, but I can vouch for Dav's integrity and good judgment."

"Whose flag are they flying?" Gustav asked.

"Weselton," Stollen replied.

Several heads turned towards Bern.

"It seems Weselton is willing to attack us directly, in addition to the underhanded attack on our economy," Rodmund said.

Bern just shook his head.

"Gustav, an invasion triggers our defense alliance treaty with Easthaven. Take word immediately," Elsa ordered.

"I leave within the hour," Gustav promised.

"By the time they get here, Weselton will already have won," Councilor Alan said.

"Not if the harbor is frozen and they can't reach the castle island or mainland," Bern countered.

All eyes turned towards Elsa, who gathered her confidence and deliberately did not clench her hands into fists.

Dav pushed his way to the table and leaned in. "If she freezes the harbor again, the fisheries will never recover. The unseasonal freeze at her coronation froze and killed fish that hadn't spawned. The fish population is only half of what it was. If that happens again, she wipes out every fisherman in Arendelle that managed to hang on after her coronation and ends Arendelle's fishing industry for good. Your Majesty, I beg your pardon for speaking so plainly."

Elsa looked to Harbormaster Stollen, who nodded.

"If she doesn't freeze the harbor, every fisherman in Arendelle could be murdered or enslaved by an invader before a message even reaches our allies," Alan protested.

"Why the harbor? Why not the ships themselves?" Vilrun said. "Your Majesty, can you freeze the warships into an iceberg without freezing the entire fjord?"

Or every ocean in the world, Elsa added in her mind. There was that question that would never go away. Could she control it? She had bits of control now. On a small scale, with plenty of time to draw on love and think about what she wanted to do, she could control her powers. But countering an invasion was an entirely different level and she could already feel the power crackling in her hands as fear rose in her heart.

"I need Anna." She said the words before she even knew how true they were. Elsa had the power, but Anna was the one who loved her enough to curb its destructive force.

"Find the princess," Bern told Kai.

"Meet us at the harbor," Elsa added.

Queen Elsa and her councilors swept through Arendelle's castle island on the way to the harbor, following Dav and his crew. It was no longer a quiet, ordinary day. Dav's crew must have spread word about the coming invasion, because panic was sweeping through the population. People came running towards them, fear in their eyes and shouts on their lips. Crowds were gathering on the dock and at the sea walls, straining to see the threat on the horizon.

As Elsa saw the fear gathering around her, the calmer she became. Fear grew out of helplessness, and Elsa didn't feel helpless right now. She had a way to counter this threat. These were her people, and she would protect them. Her confidence had grown since the Battle of Arendelle last fall and she didn't need to cower in the castle and hope someone else could protect her kingdom. As the clamoring crowd grew, Elsa flicked her fingers at the green linen skirt she was wearing. Ice shimmered and grew into her pale blue ice gown, and the train of gossamer snowflakes fell from her shoulders. She waved at her people, and a shimmer of ice and snowflakes danced from her fingertips and swirled through the air.

"The Ice Queen!" someone shouted, and then she heard cheers.

With her chin up and her eyes flashing with confidence, Elsa strode through the short street to the harbor with her councilors flanking her. The shouts of fear turned into shouts of acclaim, and what could have been a riot turned into a triumphant procession.

On the dock, Elsa didn't need the glass to see the ships anymore. Four specks on the horizon were clearly visible.

"Excuse me, Princess coming through. Move it! Queen's orders!"

Elsa smiled when she heard Kristoff's voice. She couldn't help it. She watched him shoulder a couple more dignified men out of the way and deposit Anna right next to her. Olaf had hold of her hand.

"The Ice Queen returns," Kristoff pronounced, his eyes sweeping over her dress.

"Warships?" Anna asked.

"We're under attack, Anna. I'm going to sail out there and freeze the warships before they can come closer, but I can't risk freezing the harbor again. I need you to come with me and help me control the ice," Elsa said, as quietly as she could. She didn't want anyone else to hear that she still wasn't sure of her control in a situation this tense.

"Of course!" Anna said.

"I'm coming too!" Olaf announced.

"What?" Kristoff cut in.

"Your Majesty, your Highness, I can't allow it." That last statement was in Rodmund's graveled voice. "We can't risk both of you at the same time. If something should go wrong, we must have at least one of you safe in Arendelle to ensure the succession."

Elsa saw the wisdom of what he was saying, but it left her with a terrible problem. "Rodmund, I don't know if I can control the ice on this scale without help," she told him. "Anna's love helps me control it. I can't risk freezing the entire fjord again."

"Can her love help from here? Perhaps she can keep the harbor clear even if she isn't standing right next to you," Rodmund suggested.

Elsa's eyes darted from Rodmund to Anna. "I don't know; we've never tried that."

"I love Elsa! I can help!" Olaf insisted.

"Sir, could I have a minute?" Kristoff asked Rodmund.

"There is some time pressure, Kristoff," Rodmund replied.

"Just a minute," Kristoff promised. He pulled Anna around so the three of them were facing the water and asked Elsa, "Is it love in general that helps you control the ice? Or is it only Anna's love?"

"How would I know that?" Elsa asked.

Kristoff stepped over and yanked on somebody who had been standing right behind Rodmund. "Get over here. We need you." Then he turned back to Elsa. "What about him?"

Bern shook Kristoff's hand off his arm. "What are you talking about?"

"Love helps Elsa control her magic. Rodmund says Anna can't sail with Elsa to the warships because Arendelle can't put both royals in danger at the same time, and he's right. You're the next best option, Bern – unless you're going to deny how much you love Elsa," Kristoff said bluntly.

Bern clenched his jaw and gave Kristoff an outraged look.

"You're a lousy matchmaker, Kristoff," Anna told him and shouldered him out of the way.

"Look, Bern, Elsa has trouble controlling her magic because she hasn't fully accepted it. That's what I do for her – I accept it and love her the way she is, and that keeps the magic under control. Can you do that for her?" Anna asked him.

"Do I get any say in this?" Elsa interrupted.

"No," Kristoff said.

"I love and accept her the way she is, magic and all," Bern said, nervously running his hand through his short black hair and staring down at the dock, which was starting to frost over.

"Me too!" Olaf shouted. "How come everyone is ignoring me?"

"Rodmund!" Anna called. "We've solved the dilemma! Bern will be going with Elsa. I'll stay here with Kristoff and keep the harbor clear of ice."

"Very good, your Highness, thank you," Rodmund said to Anna. He took Bern by the elbow and pulled him towards a gangplank. "Captain Dav volunteered to sail you back out there."

Elsa looked around the harbor, her heart fluttering and unsure whether she should laugh or cry. To distract herself, she focused on the crisis at hand. There was a good-sized merchant ship at anchor, a few sailboats, and several fishing boats that were smaller than Dav's. This was their best option, she supposed, especially since the number of sea captains willing to sail towards warships was small.

She picked her way down the gangplank to the deck of the triple-masted schooner, Bern right behind her. The sailors were preparing to cast off again, and she tried to stay out of their way. She didn't dare look at Bern. He'd never actually told her that he loved her before; it was obvious from how he acted but she'd never let him say the words. She had no idea how to respond to the declaration that Anna had wrung from him, especially in these circumstances, so she avoided looking at him.

Above them, the square-rigged sails hung slack in the calm air.

"Captain, do you have enough men to man the oars?" Bern asked, and Elsa remembered that Bern had years of experience on sailing ships as a merchant and even owned his own sailboat.

"They disembarked. Stollen's finding some replacements," Dav said. It was obvious he was angry at the oarsmen, and just as obvious that there wasn't enough wind to get them out of the harbor without rowing.

"Would it be faster if I made the wind blow?" Elsa asked.

Dav stared at her. "You can do that?"

"It's a cold wind. I can't keep it up for long without freezing your sails, I imagine, but it may get us out of the harbor more quickly than waiting for a new crew," Elsa replied. "Show me which angle you want the wind to come from."

Dav shouted more orders at the sailors, who hurried to adjust the sails. He pointed to a spot on the deck and suggested Elsa stand there. Elsa walked over and looked up at the sails over her head. A couple of sailors were still standing in the footropes, carrying out orders that made no sense without any wind. She was aware that half of Arendelle Village was crowded at the dock and sea wall, watching her. She raised her hand and thought about how much she loved these people in her kingdom. This was her way of helping them, and they needed to get out of the harbor quickly. A gust puffed from her hand and died.

Elsa heard the disappointment gush out of the crowd. The sailors above her head walked nimbly down the yard to the mast and stayed aloft in the rigging with the birds, wondering what was going to happen. She looked at her hands and tried to gather the love into her heart again. Another gust bellied out the sail and then died. It wasn't working and she knew why. The general idea of love was not nearly as powerful as specific love. This time she thought of Bern and repeated the words he'd said just now on the dock about loving and accepting her. The wind poured briefly out of her palm, then died again.

Ice spread under her feet as Elsa lost confidence in herself. She had to do this. Everyone in Arendelle was depending on her. The idea of living up to everyone's expectations made the fear worse and the ice started to spread across the deck.

"Elsa?" Bern said. He'd stepped up to stand behind her, carefully staying several inches away. At Christmas, Elsa had asked Bern not to touch her, and he'd respected that request ever since, even avoiding normal polite gestures such as offering her his arm.

She knew why she couldn't draw on Bern's love to help her control her powers. She was blocking his love by refusing to accept it. She'd done the same thing to Anna for years. Love must be accepted and returned to give her control. She couldn't cut someone off and then expect them to help her at the same time. She swallowed hard and admitted something to herself that she'd been stifling for months.

"Bern, would you take my hand? I believe that would help," Elsa said.

She didn't meet his eyes, but she held out her hand. Still standing behind her, Bern took it. Elsa raised her other hand and thought about how much she loved Bern and how grateful she was that he was here with her right now. Cold, blue wind poured from her palm and filled the sails. With a snap of sailcloth, Dav's ship surged away from the dock. The movement was so sudden that Elsa lost her footing and staggered until Bern's other hand on her waist steadied her as she kept up the cold wind that was moving them out of the harbor.

She'd always liked Bern's hands.

* * *

**Author note: According to Disney, Frozen takes place in 1840. By that time, gunpowder weapons like cannons and rifles were commonplace. But there aren't any such weapons in the movie, only crossbows and swords. Magic is an alternate universe sort of thing already, so I guess they decided to make up their own rules about weapons. Anyway, I'm sticking with the movie's version of weaponry. There are no gunpowder weapons in this story. Mostly, I didn't want to deal with the plot wrinkles it would present if a rifleman could take a shot at Elsa from 100 yards away.  
**


	3. Chapter 3 - Confrontation

**Chapter 3 – Confrontation**

Princess Anna watched Elsa blow the ship out of the harbor, supported by Bern. There was some scattered applause and light cheers from the crowd.

"That answers that question, doesn't it?" Gustav said smugly to Rodmund.

"Quit gloating and go," Rodmund replied. "Try not to bring back Prince Dominic from Easthaven."

"Talk to Queen Elsa and Bern about the letter, Rodmund. Tell them everything as soon as you can," Gustav said.

"I will," Rodmund promised.

Gustav strode off to another pier, where Harbormaster Stollen had alerted the captain of a sloop that he'd just been royally commissioned to transport Lord Councilor Gustav to Easthaven.

Olaf tugged on Anna's skirt. "I could have helped her," he said sadly.

"I need you here, Olaf," Anna reassured him.

Rodmund turned to Anna. "Your Highness, how may I be of assistance?"

"We're throwing a party, Rodmund, and Elsa is the guest of honor," Anna said as she climbed onto the sea wall, clinging to Kristoff's hand for balance. She waved and the people cheered. Everyone loved her, and she was going to draw on that love to help stem the tide of the wariness she knew so many people still felt towards Elsa and her strange powers. "Queen Elsa needs our support! She sails for our protection!" Anna shouted.

There were more cheers, but not as many.

"Is she going to freeze our entire land again?" a woman asked.

"No, not if we help her," Anna insisted.

"It's unnatural," yelled another person.

"Hey!" Kristoff yelled, leaping up onto the wall next to Anna. "Our queen just climbed into a fishing boat to go take on a flotilla of warships with nothing but those unnatural powers of hers. You may not like her ice, but you bloody well better love that woman's heart! Do you have that kind of courage? Do you?"

"She's our queen!" Anna said.

"The Queen of Easthaven doesn't have anything but a dog," someone called out with a laugh. "Our queen has a talking snowman!"

"That's me!" Olaf shouted with excitement. He climbed onto the sea wall next to Anna and Kristoff and waved. "I'm Elsa's favorite snowman!"

A ripple of laughter swept through the crowd and Anna relaxed as the mood changed.

"She made a cup of ice for my daughter when she was feverish," another woman called out.

"She cut the tariffs on cloth," a merchant put in.

"And don't forget the ice skating party!" Olaf called out.

"Keep them going, I've got an idea," Kristoff said to Anna, and jumped down.

As the crowd started to fragment into individual conversations, Anna began to sing a holiday song. Within a few bars, the townspeople were joining her soaring soprano. Children shouted the song. She signaled a group of men who were singing baritone to increase their volume. Several women began singing an alto harmony. From the back of the crowd, Anna picked out Kristoff's robust tenor by the end of the song.

In the lull after the song, Kristoff called out, "I've ice! Free ice to the supporters of Queen Elsa!" He waved a shard of ice in the air and was mobbed.

Within a few minutes, many of the people in the crowd were waving ice in the air, calling out toasts to the queen. "Long live Queen Elsa! The Ice Queen!"

Rodmund was already sending messages to the castle about preparing a feast against Elsa's triumphant return, so Anna found the best singers instead. "Bring tambourines, cymbals and drums. We need music and dancing!"

They ran off to fetch the music for the impromptu celebration that was filling the harbor as townspeople poured in over the causeway as news of the invasion and Queen Elsa's defense spread throughout Arendelle Village. Anna saw Councilors Rodmund and Alan directing people who were bringing wares and food. The harbor filled, and the crowd began to spill into the surrounding lanes and into the castle courtyard.

Anna managed to procure a handful of ice and raised the cold, dripping shard to the sun. "Hurrah for the Ice Queen!" A hundred voices echoed her cheer.

Anna heard the tambourines and cymbals before she saw them. Men started a sea chanty and the instruments took up their rhythm. The children started dancing first, but then every empty spot filled up with people stomping, clapping, cavorting and whirling. It didn't look like any dance Anna had ever seen, yet the fun more than made up for its informality. Olaf spun his way through the crowds, laughing wildly and clutching a shard of ice.

Kristoff grabbed Anna around the waist and swung her around in a few dance steps he made up on the spot.

"The princess! Look at the princess dance!" she heard people call.

"You ready for this?" Kristoff whispered in her ear.

"Ready for what?" Anna asked, just as Kristoff flipped her off the ground and into a spin.

The people cheered as Anna gasped, then landed on her feet with a smile.

Applause broke out.

"I'm only letting you get away with that because the people liked it so much!" Anna said.

It went on and on. The music and dancing reached a fever pitch. Anna wondered how much longer she could keep this up when silence descended on the crowd.

"He's heaved the jib!" Harbormaster Stollen was calling. "Captain Dav's backed the sails. They're heaving to," he repeated, offering his glass to Anna.

Kristoff pulled Anna back on the wall where she could see. Stollen handed her the telescope. Anna peered through it, scanning the horizon until she saw Dav's fishing boat. They were almost still, the four warships from Weselton bearing down on them. The confrontation had begun.

Anna handed the glass back to Stollen. She started singing the solemn hymn used only during the queen's coronation procession. Singers from the choir picked up the harmony, music crowning Elsa again as she went to battle for them.

~###~

Elsa kept up the cold wind until the sailcloth frosted over. She let the wind die and took her hand out of Bern's.

"Can you thaw the frost?" Bern asked her, nodding towards the sails.

Elsa nodded and thought about thawing the frost, her hand outstretched. Nothing happened. She turned and met Bern's eyes for the first time since he'd been pressured into announcing that he loved her. "I need your hand again," she admitted.

He smiled at her ruefully as he took her hand again. "Is it so painful?"

Elsa turned and waved blue sparkles at the sail with her other hand. The frost wisped away. "Not painful."

"What I meant was, is this unsettling for you? You told me that it frightened you to touch someone or be touched. I've always thought that fear makes you lose control over the ice. How is it that holding my hand gives you more control?"

"I'm not actually afraid of your touch," Elsa said, and was grateful that Captain Dav approached before she had to say more than that.

"Your Majesty, if you and the Lord Councilor would step towards the stern and out of the way, I can give the orders to brace around the yards and tack into the wind. We've picked up a breeze now that we're out of the harbor," the captain said.

"Are the warships sailing with the wind astern?" Bern asked.

"Apparently so. They've the advantage of the wind, which will make it harder for us to stay out of range of grappling hooks once we're close enough for her Majesty to freeze them. I hope you can work fast," Dav said.

"Of course I can," Elsa replied. "They won't be able to maneuver at all once I'm done with them."

"As long as it doesn't take so long that we get boarded," Dav said. He'd been walking them past hawsers and harpoons and up the steps to the aft deck. Once they were out of the way, Dav turned and bellowed out orders for shifting the sails again, then strode away from them, still shouting at the sailors who were swarming the rigging.

"Bern, how long would it take for those warships to board us?" Elsa asked.

"I've never been in an actual sea battle, Elsa, not even captured by pirates. But as soon as they come alongside, they can throw out grappling hooks and chains. Once they've hooked us, they can run over boarding planks and rope ladders and the soldiers come swarming across and then it's hand-to-hand combat until somebody surrenders. It's a matter of a few minutes at most," Bern said. "If they decide to ram us instead, that's obviously much faster, but does more damage to the ship. Weselton probably isn't interested in capturing a fishing schooner, so ramming would be the most likely option for destroying us. You need to give Captain Dav a medal for risking any of this. Oh, and there will be archers in the fore and aft castles shooting flaming arrows in an attempt to burn the ship until the boarding party prevails."

Ice crackled across the deck and hoarfrost climbed the railing.

"I'm sorry, Elsa, but you need to know what Weselton's intentions are if you're going to counter them," Bern said.

"Thank you for being blunt," Elsa said. She sat down on a coiled hawser, pulling her feet off the deck to try and stop the spread of the ice. It started snowing around them.

"Tell me what you're afraid of, Elsa. Fears are at their worst before you speak them and you've got to get rid of this fear," Bern said.

"That the ice will spread. I'm afraid the ice will spread and catch Captain Dav's ship too. The soldiers will be able to walk across and capture us. If it spreads far enough, they can walk to Arendelle. I'm trying to save everyone, Bern, but if I do it wrong, I'm the instrument of Arendelle's destruction. Again. Every time I try to help Arendelle, I risk completely destroying it," Elsa said. She had her eyes shut tight, fists clenched, feet tucked in under her. The ice still spread across the deck and icicles sprouted.

"What else? Keep going," Bern said.

"I'm afraid that even if I get it right, people will be afraid of me again. I'll be afraid of myself again. This is such a terrible power, Bern. If I use it to hurt someone, even my enemies, all the fear comes back. People should be afraid of me; I should be afraid of myself."

"Keep going," Bern said, kneeling on the icy deck next to her.

Elsa pulled herself into a tighter ball. "I'm afraid I really am a monster, just like the Duke of Weselton says I am."

Bern sat next to her and pried her hands open, putting them palm to palm with his own. Elsa gasped and tried to pull away.

"You just said you weren't afraid of my touch," Bern reminded her.

"I could still hurt you," Elsa objected.

"Fear can't get past true love," Bern said, not releasing her hands. "Let me try this."

Elsa didn't know if she was more afraid of the warships or Bern right now, but she stopped trying to pull away from him.

He wrapped her hands in his own. "Now take a deep breath."

"Aren't you going to tell me not to be afraid?"

"When has that ever worked?"

"But I really could do those things, Bern," Elsa protested.

"The deck of the ship just thawed. And it isn't snowing anymore," Bern said. "It seems to me that you're more afraid when I'm not touching you."

"Well, I, um," Elsa stammered.

"The warships are coming up fast, Elsa. Did you have a plan?"

"When have I had time to come up with a plan? You're doing all this! What's your plan?" Elsa demanded, unbalanced by his proximity and the feel of his hands on hers. She didn't know why it wasn't snowing. The way she felt right now should have put them all in a blizzard, and there wasn't even ice on the deck anymore.

"Love seems to be working well. Shall we continue with that?" Bern asked. He crossed his arms over her and pulled her back against him in an embrace. She had the sudden fanciful feeling of being surrounded by warmth.

Elsa shook him off and got to her feet, taking a deep shaky breath. "Those are warships from Weselton, Bern. I've never attacked anyone using love to control my powers. With Anna, I've only ever thawed things out, or put out a fire. I can only use love to help people, Bern. When I let this power go when I'm afraid, I lose control, but I've only ever been able to hurt people when I'm afraid. I have to hurt our enemies, and that means being afraid of them. I'll lose control, Bern, I will."

Bern came to stand next to her at the railing, his arm brushing hers. "Do you love the people of Arendelle enough to protect them? Can you think of it that way, Elsa? Or even focus on protecting Captain Dav and his sailors who are so unbelievably brave that they're sailing towards a flotilla of warships on a fishing schooner?" Bern looked around as the ship abruptly dropped speed. "He's loosed the sheetlines and set the jib sails windward. Come, you've only got moments before Captain Dav has to either dowse the canvas or take it in entirely. He can't maintain this position without being attacked."

Elsa looked around too, wondering what on earth Bern was talking about. She saw sailors in the rigging, the jib boom swinging, and Captain Dav bellowing orders.

"Your Majesty! Come to the bow!" Dav shouted from cupped hands. He waved them forward.

Elsa quit worrying about the ship and went back to her problem. "I can't love someone and attack someone else. I can't be full of love and fear at the same time. You know that can't work," Elsa said, making her way down the steps to the main deck. Bern picked up the train of her snow queen dress and carried it.

"Then think of the sermon Bishop Saholt gave a few weeks ago. Do you remember? Love your enemies," Bern said, close behind her. He wrapped the train of her dress around one arm and held onto her hand with the other to steady her steps as the deck heaved beneath them in the ocean's swell.

"Love my enemies? That doesn't work in real life!"

"They're people, Elsa," Bern said. "Love doesn't mean you let people do whatever they want. Sometimes you have to love someone enough to stop them."

Elsa fell silent, her thoughts fading out as Bern's words started working to expand her heart enough to love her enemies.

Captain Dav made room for her at the bow of the ship, then turned to shout orders about lashing the tiller. "They're going to ram us if you can't stop them. Watch out for the archers."

Elsa nodded. Captain Dav would get his medal for bravery if they got home from this, along with everyone on his crew. Bern came right up behind her and put both hands on her bare shoulders. "Bern, think about loving our enemies. I can draw on that."

"Certainly."

Elsa closed her eyes and thought about love. In the past, she'd been given flashes of empathy, connections into the hearts of those she loved best. Her gift of true love was empathy, and she needed it now, because she didn't love her enemies, not yet. Bern's hands tightened on her shoulders, and she reached her hands up and put them over his. When Anna had helped her with her powers, she'd sensed Anna's love, which was laced with joy and the sheer delight of being sisters, a bubbling froth of excitement. Bern's love felt different, it was deep and hot, framed with steadiness and strength. She stepped back against him, pressing into him, and felt that reservoir of love in him ignite. Her fear of losing control of her ice melted away.

Rooted into his love, she reached towards her enemies. General love had never worked for controlling her powers, and so her empathy focused down on one soldier aboard the ships of Weselton. She fell into the heart of a farm boy, only fourteen years old, who had grown too fast and had been press-ganged into this invasion force when he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He had the body of a man, but the heart and soul of a child, and he was terrified of the coming battle. She sensed the love he was relying on right now, the tender love of a mother and the proud love of a father who wanted him to come home. He had brothers and sisters. There was a future for this boy if he lived through this day.

Elsa let go of Bern and raised her hands, eyes still closed, heart still connected to the young farmer-turned-unwilling-soldier from Weselton. True love surged through her and wrapped around her power. "Go home, men of Weselton," she murmured, "go home and be fathers, brothers, sons and husbands again." A shield of ice formed in front of the rams of all four ships and each ship crashed into it, losing speed even as they broke through the ice to the sound of wood splintering. The ice spread out and around the bowsprits, climbing to the forecastles and then down to the waterline, spreading into the ocean. "Let there be no battle, no blood, and no mourning." The ice locked the ships' rudders into place.

"Let no woman weep for the loss of the man she loves. Amen." The ice spread between all the ships, connecting them together into a clumsy, unnavigable iceberg. Then it stopped.

Elsa sent ice twining up the masts on all four ships. At the top, the creeping ice unfolded into bouquets of flowers. Topheavy, the weight of the ice started to splinter the masts. Elsa sent a wind to blow, and the masts snapped off, tangling sails and rigging as they fell. Even from this distance, they could hear the shouts of the men as the decks disappeared beneath billowing sailcloth.

Suddenly, Elsa was yanked backwards and thrown to the deck, Bern crouching over her. "Archers," Bern said in apology.

"We're out of range," Dav said. "The arrows hit the water ten yards away."

"I want her behind the cabin," Bern insisted. "She isn't going to stand out there and hope they don't have a crossbow with a longer range."

"I'm almost finished," Elsa protested.

As another volley of flaming arrows filled the air, Bern didn't bother asking again. He swept up Elsa in his arms and carried her behind the cabin, the train of her dress trailing them.

"They're trapped, Elsa. Give the order to leave."

Elsa nodded and Bern set her on her feet, keeping his arms around her waist.

"Captain, get us out of here!" Bern bellowed.

Overhead, the yards swung again as Dav gave orders to reposition the sails and tighten the sheetlines. The wind caught the sails and the ship began to move.

"Just one more thing," Elsa said, trying to maneuver past Bern. She finally gave up and simply reached around him to focus her power at the ships again. She stretched her arms out over his shoulders, conscious of his arms around her waist, keeping her from leaving the shelter of the cabin again.

Flowers sprouted from the ice locking the ships together. Stems and leaves of ice spiraled upwards, thirty feet and more, and then great sunflowers of ice looked over the decks of the ships. More ice flowers grew until the four ships were obscured from each other by thick patches of enormous flowers. "They'll stay busy wondering when the stems will melt enough to drop the flowers on deck," she said. "It will give them something to do."

"Flowers?" Bern said incredulously.

"I like sunflowers," Elsa said.

And then they both started to laugh as they sailed back to Arendelle. He left his arms around her waist and she didn't move away from him.

* * *

**This is the scripture Bern used: "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" Matthew 5:44, King James Version.**


	4. Chapter 4 - Celebration

**Chapter 4 – Celebration**

"She's done it! There's ice all over the ships!" Anna shouted, looking through the telescope. The singing stopped as Anna's words were repeated in a ripple outwards through the crowd.

Harbormaster Stollen verified Anna's announcement. The crowd erupted in cheers.

"Watch the water," Kristoff said. "Is the ice spreading?"

"I can't tell," Anna said, peering through the glass.

Kristoff held out his hand and Anna handed him the telescope. Everyone with a glass was focusing intently on the ships on the horizon.

"They're coming home at a good clip," someone said.

"That means they're not iced in," Anna said, shaking Kristoff's arm in excitement.

"Hurrah for Queen Elsa! She's iced in the warships and kept the harbor clear!" shouted Harbormaster Stollen.

A hundred voices echoed his cheer.

Anna watched as the sloop carrying Councilor Gustav rigged the sails to catch the wind and sped through the waters, past the stranded warships, on the way to Easthaven. He would carry the news of Elsa's victory, as well as the request for aid to seize the ships and take the fight to Weselton. Anna was fiercely proud that they needed to request only enough help to rid themselves of a foe who had already faced defeat at their queen's hands.

"I've got to get to the castle. We need to set up the feast in the courtyard and feed the whole kingdom!" Anna said, leaping off the wall. "We'll dance all night and sing until sunrise!"

She couldn't move six inches for all the people who wanted to hug her and congratulate her. Kristoff finally took her firmly in hand and began pushing through the crowd, shoulder first. As Anna headed up to the castle, she looked around. She wasn't the only one planning on a party. Bakers, fruitsellers, and dozens of others were trundling their wares towards the castle courtyard. Arendelle loved a celebration.

As she passed Councilor Rodmund, she called out, "Form a welcoming party for Elsa. Keep some of the musicians!" And then she was swept away by the press of the crowd.

Anna and Kristoff were still in the cobblestone lanes when an enormous snowflake appeared above the castle. It burst into a shimmer of ice sparkles that rained down on them. Again, and a third time, Elsa sent a celebratory snowflake to announce her victory. Anna's eyes sparkled with a sheen of happy tears.

~###~

Harbormaster Stollen cleared people from the outmost pier and signaled Captain Dav. Sailors threw out the mooring lines and dock workers made the ship fast. The roar of the crowd rose to a deafening pitch as they ran out the gangplank and Elsa appeared, waving at the people. She turned before disembarking and caught Captain Dav by the hand.

"Your bravery will go down in history, Captain," she told him. "Arendelle is in your debt, and I will do anything in my power to repay that debt. Bring your officers and crew to the celebration and let us honor you."

Captain Dav tried that unschooled bow again, and then gave up and winked at her. "No sailor ever passed up an invitation like that. I'll grant them all shore leave." He grabbed Bern by the hand and shook it vigorously. "Good show, mate. You can sail with us again."

"Thank you," Bern replied, returning the handshake. "I've missed the sea."

"If you ever get tired of politics, I'll start you at third mate," Captain Dav promised.

"He's not going to get tired of politics," Elsa said.

"I am under royal orders to remain fascinated with politics," Bern told Captain Dav.

Captain Dav bellowed a laugh and slapped Bern on the back hard enough to make him stagger. "Get to your party. We'll be along soon."

Elsa strode down the gangplank towards the pier that was empty of everyone except the remaining five members of her council. As she reached the end of the gangplank, Lord High Councilor Rodmund dropped to one knee and bowed his head. All down the line, each of her councilors went down on one knee, even Harold, elderly and arthritic, who had to hold on to Alan to avoid falling over. Bern left her side to take his place on his knee with the other councilors.

Elsa kept her head up and step steady, but the tears in her eyes betrayed her gratitude at this respect. On the castle island, the villagers still crowding the harbor followed her council's lead and knelt as she approached. They weren't afraid of her. She hadn't lost control of the ice. And even now, she could feel the pulse of love directed towards her. Elsa loved them in return. She was good, and she felt it all the way into her heart; more of her hidden fear slipped away permanently.

At the end of the pier, Elsa paused and wondered what to do now. There was no path through the kneeling crowd. It was silent for a moment. A child in the crowd looked around, bemused, at the adults around her, then studied the ground to find out what was so fascinating. She gave Elsa a puzzled look, unable to find out why everyone was looking at the ground. On impulse, Elsa sketched a shape in the air that sparkled and solidified, then handed the ice flower to the girl.

"Queen made me a flower!" the girl announced.

A happy rumble passed through the crowd as they climbed to their feet again. Elsa passed out ice flowers to all the children she could reach. The people pressed closer. Elsa backed up onto the pier and wondered how she would get through the crowd. From behind the crowd, she saw Olaf, who had climbed onto a pile of barrels to wave and shout. She waved back, then made another ice sunflower and handed it to a young man, who saluted her with it.

"To the castle!" Councilor Alan called to the people as he and the rest of the councilors formed up around her. Elsa glanced back and saw Rodmund talking to Captain Dav, and left the captain's reward in Rodmund's capable hands.

The crowd began to move sluggishly towards the castle, with others still trying to reach her.

Olaf bounded and wiggled his way to her. "I can pass out flowers, Elsa!"

Elsa sketched out a dozen ice sunflowers that Olaf clasped in his arms and began to give away to any hands that reached towards him. In the circle formed by her councilors, Elsa made her way to the castle courtyard, passing out flowers as she went. She made tulips, sometimes daisies, but most often she created sunflowers. It was silly, impractical, magical, and the most enjoyable thing she'd ever done. She kept trying to stifle an unqueenly giggle.

In the castle courtyard, tables were already arranged around the perimeter. Food was coming from everywhere, it seemed. A tavern keeper was drawing mugs of ale from a cask. Elsa's escort passed right by his table. Elsa flicked her fingers at the mugs, frosting all of them. The tavern keeper saluted her and waved a mug in her direction as people stepped up to claim a drink chilled by the queen.

"The Snow Queen!" people shouted, and toasted her.

The musicians on the raised dais launched into a song as Elsa entered the courtyard. She waved and people cheered. Clapping and stomping, villagers whirled their way into the center of the courtyard in a dance that had no connection to the stately, measured steps of a ballroom.

Her escort of councilors dissolved into the crowd and Captain Dav appeared. "Your Majesty!" he said, more command than invitation, and he pulled her into the dance. Elsa's protest that she couldn't dance died on her lips, as it was evident that Dav couldn't dance either, and it didn't matter. Elsa gave up trying to smother the giggle and gave herself over to dancing, laughing, and loving it all. The others who had sailed with her to the warships formed a line, clapping and stomping in unison. Elsa looped the train of her dress up over her arm and clapped along with them, catching hands and trying to keep track of when she was supposed to turn in a circle. It didn't seem to matter when she missed a step.

Then Bern cut in. "Is this all right?" he asked her.

Elsa barely had time to nod before Councilor Alan elbowed him out, only to be replaced by Kristoff within a few steps.

"Kristoff! You and Anna were wonderful!" Elsa said. "Where is she?"

"She's having a party around here somewhere. You ice crazy queen! You're amazing, you know that?" Kristoff said.

"I know," Elsa happily agreed, and then Captain Torvin of the Castle Guard whirled her away.

After she'd danced with half of Arendelle, it occurred to her that she had bare hands and so did everyone else. A lifetime of being afraid she would hurt anyone she touched evaporated in that whirling, stomping melee that was too chaotic to be called an actual dance. Not one person was afraid of grasping her bare hand either. It was such a joyful realization that it hurt, and she stopped and pressed her hand to her mouth.

Immediately, Bern was there. "Elsa, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just happy is all," Elsa said.

"When was the last time you had anything to eat?" he asked.

"Breakfast, I suppose."

Bern sent Olaf with messages while he led her out of the courtyard and into the ballroom, which was mostly empty. He had his arm around her waist again. Servants carried a small table into an alcove just inside the ballroom, with two chairs and a large screen for privacy.

"Gerda!" Elsa said.

The woman who had just put two laden plates on the table turned and gave her a smile and a curtsy. Elsa was too happy for formalities and hugged her.

"We're all so proud of you!" Gerda whispered in her ear.

"She's the best queen ever!" Olaf heartily agreed before scampering off again.

"What are you doing? I'm fine!"

Elsa recognized the protesting voice and told Anna to just let them fuss as Kristoff bodily pulled Anna away from someone who wanted to talk to her and deposited her in the chair next to Elsa.

"Elsa!"

"Anna!"

"We're going to make sure no one interrupts you," Kristoff said. He and Bern took up stations by the screen to fend off well-wishers, far enough away to give the sisters some privacy.

After a long hug, both sisters demanded, "Tell me!" at the same time.

"You first," Elsa insisted, and listened while Anna described everything that happened. Anna could never just talk. She reenacted parts of the day's drama. They talked; they ate; they laughed. Then it was Elsa's turn to recount her adventure.

"Bern held your hand nearly the whole time?" Anna exclaimed.

"All the things that happened today and that's what you ask about?"

Anna laughed. "If you blush any harder, you'll set your hair on fire."

~###~

Over the noise of the party and the royal sisters talking, Kristoff gave Bern a sly look, assuming he'd been forgiven for his part in forcing Bern to declare his love for Elsa on the dock that morning. "So, things go all right?"

"You really deserve to get punched in the face, you know that?" Bern replied.

"Don't even think about it. I let you get away with hitting me the one time because I deserved it. But if you try that again, I'll take you down so fast, you'd never even know what hit you," Kristoff said.

Bern looked away, towards the party outside the castle doors where guardsmen were getting braziers into place and lighting them as dusk fell. "You could have ruined everything between us. You don't understand what she means to me and how careful I've had to be with her," Bern told him.

"Right, because I've never been in love. Come on, Bern. You're so patient with her you're practically dead. You should be thanking me for forcing your hand," Kristoff argued. "Because if you're going to wait for Elsa to give you permission to do anything but like her from a distance, you really will be dead before you get anywhere."

"I'm not going to push things with her," Bern said.

Kristoff shrugged. "Then by this time tomorrow, all you'll have is a medal. She'll be too shy and proper to even look you in the eye."

Bern bit his lip and stared at the floor.

"If you don't say something to her, I will," Kristoff said.

"You wouldn't!"

"You told me you consider me to be your younger brother. Remember that? Part of being a little brother is completely humiliating the older brother when he's trying to impress a lady," Kristoff said nonchalantly.

"Don't you dare!"

Kristoff was brought up short by Bern's tone. He was trying to tease him, but Bern was taking this seriously. "Ease up a bit, brother. If it means that much to you, I won't."

"Thanks, I'll take that as a promise," Bern said.

They stood several minutes in silence, letting the cadence of Elsa and Anna's happy chatter float around them.

"She'd be happier, you know," Kristoff ventured finally.

"What?"

"Elsa. You should listen to Anna talk about her sometime. You know what Elsa told her once? She said that she hurts people if she touches them, so the more she likes them, the more she has to keep them at a distance to protect them," Kristoff said. "Pretty crazy thinking, but if Elsa likes you, she's going to keep you at a distance unless you do something about it. Elsa goes in for the miserable self-sacrifice thing. I mean, she kept Anna away for thirteen years, thinking she was protecting her by shutting her out."

"She thinks she's protecting me by keeping me at a distance?" Bern asked in disbelief.

"Yep. Even though she likes you a lot, she won't dare let you get close because of those crazy powers of hers."

"But when I held her hand on the ship, she actually had more control of her power. The deck of the ship thawed, and it quit snowing when I took her hands. She had perfect control when she froze the ships from Weselton," Bern said.

"Then you've got a patriotic duty to kiss her, Bern. If you can help her control her powers, then Arendelle needs you to do it," Kristoff said.

Bern gave him an exasperated look. "You don't need to overstate the issue."

~###~

By evening, the dance music had calmed down into formal tunes, and the excited chaos of the afternoon gave way to a more measured pace. Elsa ended up on the sidelines because she didn't know how to dance the formal dances very well. She watched the villagers, who seemed to generally know what they were doing. Kristoff waltzed past with Anna. Olaf was in the corner with several children who were pretending they could dance.

"I showed you how to waltz on Christmas Day. Would you care to try?" Bern asked her, approaching from behind.

"In front of everyone?"

"Unless you want to hide in the cloakroom."

"What if I make a mistake?"

"Everyone will see. They'll all stop to point and laugh at you," Bern said seriously.

Elsa blanched.

Bern laughed. "I'm teasing you. On the dance floor, everyone else is too worried about making a mistake to notice anyone else. Truly, if you make a mistake, you're the only one who will ever notice, unless you step on my foot, and I'll forgive you in advance."

Bern held out his hand and Elsa took it. Bern looped the train of her dress over his arm, put a hand on her waist, counted one-two-three, and then swept her out into the courtyard. Bern was holding her tightly enough that she didn't think she could make a mistake even if she wanted to, his lead was so firm. She glanced around and decided that this was normal for waltzing couples. She'd never noticed before how close you had to be to your partner in a waltz.

"This whole day has been one victory after another for you," Bern commented.

Elsa tried to reply, and then she really did step on Bern's foot, stumbled, and let him put her back on her feet without ever losing the dance rhythm himself. "Bern, I don't think I can talk and dance at the same time. I have to count steps," she admitted.

He was so close that she felt his chest move when he laughed and agreed to be quiet. She hazarded a quick glance behind them. There wasn't a trail of ice. However nervous she may have been, no one else was going to notice because she wasn't freezing the room. It was a deliciously normal experience to be able to have an emotional twinge without worrying about it going on display for everyone. This small, invisible victory was just as important to her as the victory she'd won out on the ocean.

When the music ended, Bern bowed and Elsa curtsied. After a brief pause, the conductor announced a minuet and asked for a lead couple and sets of four. Elsa headed for the sidelines again.

"If you'd like to find a partner who knows how to dance, I won't mind," Elsa said to Bern.

"Walk with me instead," Bern suggested, offering her his arm.

They were almost to the castle gates when Rodmund caught up to them. "Your Majesty! Bern! A word please."

Rodmund reached out and Elsa gave him her hand without thinking about it. He bowed to her, and then shook Bern's hand. "Allow me to offer my personal congratulations to you both. It was a stunning victory, and Arendelle is proud of you. Your Majesty, no one need ever again doubt your ability to control your magic and use it for the good of your kingdom. And Bern, it showed real character to risk everything today like you did. If you'll indulge an old man, I've got to say I've watched both of you grow up, and I'm proud of who you've become."

"Thank you, Rodmund," Elsa said. "I'm fortunate to have you on my Council. Your wisdom and leadership have meant so much to me over the years. It's a boon to have someone I can trust in my government."

Rodmund cleared his throat. "Yes, well, about that. I was wondering if I could meet with both of you tomorrow morning at ten o'clock to discuss a matter of some importance."

"Yes, that's fine," Elsa said.

"I can be there as well," Bern assured him.

Rodmund nodded. "I'll meet you in the small council room, then. I won't interfere with your evening further. Congratulations again. My best wishes to both of you." He bowed again to Elsa and walked away.

"I'm sure it's about the economic crisis," Bern said.

"Certainly. But I don't want to think about it tonight; economics can wait a day."

They strolled through the castle gates and onto the causeway, where the still waters of the harbor carried the moon's reflection and the fireflies flickered in the bushes below the sea wall. A night breeze tugged at the train on Elsa's dress and ruffled her bangs. She was mulling over the day's events, and it was the small changes that were demanding her attention. She could dance. She could be nervous and not freeze the room. She was touching hands with everyone.

She asked Bern about that last one. "Did you see Rodmund just now? He reached for my hand and I gave it to him. He's never done that before. Everyone today is expecting me to let them touch my hands. Is it really because I froze the ships?"

"I think it's more because you're offering. Everyone offers their hand to anyone, Elsa. You've always been so distant that the custom with you has been different, but now that you're willing to join in with the rest of us, you may as well get used to it," Bern replied. "Do you think it's because you froze the ships? Is that where your new confidence comes from?"

Elsa almost admitted it was because of him, and how much connecting with him had helped her control her powers, but then she caught herself before she said too much. "I think it was the dancing this afternoon. I was already in the middle of it before I even remembered to worry about touching anyone, and by then I'd held so many hands that I couldn't pretend it bothered me."

"Then I congratulate you on taking down another barrier; I wholeheartedly approve," Bern said, putting his warm hand over hers that was already linked through his arm.

By this time, they'd reached the end of the causeway and could see fires burning in barrels around the marketplace, which was filled with people.

"It's Her Majesty! She came!"

"Look! The Lord Councilor as well!"

"Did you know there was a gathering here too?" Elsa whispered.

"No, but let's pretend we came on purpose," Bern said as he waved back to the approaching crowd.

The villagers surrounded them with congratulations and expressions of excitement at seeing them. Elsa reached back to the hands that reached towards her and let them engulf her. She felt like Anna. This is how the villagers treated Anna, and she hadn't known there would ever be that sort of warm welcome directed at her. Everyone knew Bern because of his work with the economy, and he was at the center of another jovial group.

"Would you sing for us again?" someone asked.

"Yes, sing for us! A duet like on Christmas Day!" Others took up the request.

The happy demand echoed through the crowd until Elsa acquiesced. She and Bern ended up on the platform by the quay, among barrels of salted fish and coils of rope.

"What should we sing?" she asked him.

"Arendelle's anthem, of course. And Elsa, don't hold back your voice on my account. I'll sing backup for you," Bern said.

Elsa hummed a note to give him the pitch, and then launched into Arendelle's anthem. She let the song soar. The water picked up the notes and amplified them as Elsa let her voice express her love for her country. Tonight, leadership felt like a joy instead of a duty. Bern provided the harmony, his voice strong and steady.

When the song ended, Elsa looked out into the cheering crowd and wondered how life could possibly get any better than it was right now.

~###~

It was past midnight by the time the celebration wound down. Elsa stifled another yawn, accepted another round of congratulations from someone she didn't recognize, and decided it was time to go to bed. She told Anna good night, waved at others who called out a final congratulations, and left the ballroom. She wasn't really surprised when Bern caught up to her before she reached the stairs.

"May I see you to your room?" he asked.

"Yes. And thank you again, Bern. Today couldn't have happened without you," Elsa told him.

"We couldn't have you and Anna both risking yourselves," Bern replied, and Elsa spared a thought to notice that Bern's gray jacket matched his eyes. She wondered if he'd found a minute to change clothes since the Council meeting that morning, or if she simply hadn't noticed before how handsome he looked in gray.

"It was very brave of you to sail towards a flotilla of warships on a fishing schooner. You've said Captain Dav deserves a medal, but so do you," Elsa said. The train of gossamer snowflakes floated behind her as they climbed the staircase.

"If you give me a medal, I'll give it back. I did it for you, not for Arendelle. Captain Dav's motives were more patriotic than mine," Bern said.

"I am Arendelle, Bern. What's good for Arendelle is good for me, and vice versa."

"You're still a person, Elsa. You're not a country."

"I'm the queen. My interests must match Arendelle's best interests." They'd reached her sitting room, and she waited for him to leave her at the door, but he didn't.

"You can still be a person, Elsa, not always a queen." Bern got the door and motioned her inside.

"I'm not sure where this conversation is going," Elsa said as she walked in, even though she had a good guess about what Bern was trying to do. Those flutters from her heart dropped down into her stomach.

Bern followed her into her moonlit sitting room and put a match to the wood in her fireplace. The flames leaped up and the wood popped, casting an orange glow around the room. He stood up and came to stand so close that she could feel his warmth. "The conversation is going right here," he said as his hands went around her waist. "I didn't sail out there with a country. I sailed today with a woman I love very much. I may have been pressured to declare myself today on the dock, but I've only held back that declaration out of respect for your feelings and requests. I love you, Elsa, and I'm glad I got to say it today, and maybe show you a little about how I feel about you."

He bent down and barely brushed his lips against hers. Then he straightened and looked around. "It isn't snowing."

"No," Elsa agreed in a whisper.

"The floor didn't freeze."

"No."

"There aren't any icicles."

"No."

"It seems your powers don't have any objection to me."

"No."

He took her chin in his fingertips. "Then say yes, Elsa."

"Yes."

He pressed his lips to hers. Elsa clutched at his arms and forgot to breathe. She wasn't afraid of Bern, but she was afraid of her own feelings, and the changes she would have to make in order to love Bern back. She stepped away and he let her go.

"You're my queen, Elsa."

The way his voice caressed the words made the fluttering worse. She wasn't used to having such intense feelings, especially without being able to release them into icicles. These feelings just stayed inside and got stronger because there wasn't anything she could do about them. "Good night, Bern," she finally said, closing her eyes and turning away.

"Promise me something first. I'll leave, but promise me something."

Elsa nodded.

"Don't freeze me out tomorrow. Don't pretend nothing happened between us today. Promise me we can talk," Bern said. "You've frozen me out before; please don't do it again."

"I won't freeze you out, Bern. I promise." Elsa sat down, her arms folded and head bowed as she tried to get her feelings back under control. She needed him to leave.

"Thank you, Elsa. Good night." Bern left, shutting the door behind him.

Elsa let out an explosive gasp of air and shuddered. That had been even more intense than freezing the warships. She was getting used to her powers and the feelings that influenced them. Bern was prying into a whole new dimension of feelings and she didn't know how to handle it.

The fire crackled an invitation from the hearth. She knelt close to it and held out her hands. Warmth like sunflower petals covered her hands. She put her face close to the fire and closed her eyes, letting the warmth touch her face. It was happening again. Only one other time had she felt the heat from a fire. It had been the day she'd gone ice-blocking and had so much fun with her magic. Now it was happening again on the day she'd used her powers in such a new and important way. She was getting it right, finally, and warmth was her reward.

Elsa leaned back from the fire and put her face into the gossamer train of her dress. The contrast to the warmth of the fire felt fresh and welcoming, and she wondered if she was now feeling something cool as well as something warm. She did it again, letting the fire warm her face and hands, then burying them in the cool fabric. She started to laugh. She could feel warmth on her face and hands, and this feeling fluttering in her heart was love. She was human after all.

* * *

**The cover art from nirnaeth12 illustrates the scene in this chapter where Elsa finally agrees to a real waltz with Bern.**


	5. Chapter 5 - A Journey Home

**Chapter 5 – A Journey Home**

The next morning, Elsa got Anna out of bed at a reasonable hour of the morning, which meant Anna complained for an hour about getting up at such a dreadful time. Elsa provided chocolate for breakfast, which only partially mollified her. They stayed in Anna's sitting room.

"You missed the council meeting yesterday, and I need to fill you in on what happened before we meet about it again this morning," Elsa explained when Anna finally agreed she was awake and would stop whining about it. As Anna ate, Elsa talked her way through a summary of what Bern had said about the looming economic crisis.

"I thought it wouldn't matter at all if I missed a council meeting that had an agenda full of economics," Anna said in astonishment as she set aside the breakfast tray and brushed crumbs off her embroidered green skirt.

"On most days, you'd be right," Elsa replied, and then continued with her summary. "So once Bern finished telling us about the smuggling and the fact that he suspected Weselton was one of the main culprits, he claims that someone inside Arendelle is working with Weselton in a deliberate plot to ruin our economy. He doesn't know who it could be. It was about that time that Kai interrupted the meeting with the announcement that there were warships coming."

"Wow!" Anna sprawled over a couch to emphasize her shock. "You had an exciting morning! All I did was kiss Kristoff about ten thousand times."

"I'm not sure I needed to know that," Elsa replied. "Wait, what about Olaf?"

"We sent him to buy raspberries." Anna popped up. "Did Bern kiss you?"

"I don't think that has anything to do with the economic concerns we're discussing. Rodmund wanted to meet with both Bern and myself this morning, and I'm sure it's about this economic crisis. I wanted you up to date. With Gustav gone to Easthaven, you're going to have to work on this with us," Elsa said.

"Does that mean he kissed you and you don't want to admit it?" Anna squealed. "Was that your first kiss ever? Wasn't it dreamy?"

"Anna!"

"Just say yes or no, Elsa. It isn't a hard question," Anna coaxed.

"We're talking about the economy, Anna," Elsa insisted.

"Oh, so he talked to you about the economy last night? That's why he hovered over you the entire evening and then followed you up the stairs?" Anna persisted. "When he kissed you, did you freeze the room?"

"No," Elsa said.

"You didn't freeze the room when he kissed you? That's wonderful!" Anna gushed.

"I meant no, we didn't talk about the economy," Elsa said.

"Blush if he kissed you," Anna said.

"Anna!"

"He kissed you!" Anna announced. "Yes! Finally!"

There was a knock at the door, and then Bern opened the door. Elsa turned even brighter red. She hadn't been expecting him for another two hours, when Rodmund wanted to see them. She hoped he hadn't heard the last few minutes of Anna's interrogation.

Then she registered the look on his face and all such concerns dropped away and she asked him, "What's wrong?"

"I apologize for interrupting you here. I've received an urgent message from home. Mother writes that father is dying. She doesn't expect him to last the day. I must leave immediately," Bern said without coming into the room, his hand on the door handle. His eyes darted around the room, looking everywhere except at her. He looked lost.

"Of course," Elsa said. She felt guilty that she never thought to inquire after the health of Bern's father, even though Lord Tyvard had served as her Councilor over Economic Affairs until he suffered a stroke two years ago and Bern replaced him. He'd been bedridden since then.

"Please make my excuses to Rodmund. I couldn't find him to tell him personally. I'm terribly sorry I'll miss the meeting, but you can work with Harold. As Finance Councilor, he knows as much as I do about the difficulties we're in right now," Bern said.

Elsa nodded.

"Are you going alone?" Anna asked him.

"Yes, of course. I'm their only son."

"Would you excuse me? I'll give you two a few minutes," Anna said, sidling out of the room with an awkward wave.

Without Anna there to gawk at every move she made, Elsa took Bern's hand, pulling him into the room and shutting the door behind him.

"What can I do to help, Bern? I wish I knew what to offer. Please let me know. We'll have a memorial service for him when you return, to honor his service as a councilor. Do you need help attending to affairs of his estate? Can I send someone with you?" Elsa asked.

"I don't know what I need, Elsa. I'm not sure I really believe this is happening right now. He's been sick for so long. I should have used the time to prepare for the end, but I can't believe it's here. I should know what to do."

"You'll do the right thing, Bern. That's just the sort of person you are," Elsa reassured him.

"Not really, but thank you anyway."

Elsa put her fingers to his face. He turned towards her fingers, but she turned his head back and kissed him, and finally gave in to the long-stifled impulse to run her fingers through his curly hair. The intensity from last night was gone; her only intention was to comfort him. When the kiss ended, he kept her in his embrace and buried his face in her neck.

"If you'll be gone more than a few days, please send me a note and tell me how you are," Elsa said. "I'll worry about you if I don't hear from you. I wish you didn't have to go alone."

He tightened his hold on her. "You have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you."

Elsa hugged him, and then stepped back. He let go and smiled at her, the confusion and desolation in his eyes tempered a bit now by happiness and affection. "I'll see you as soon as I can," he said.

"If there's anything you need from me, just say so," Elsa repeated.

He bowed, smiled, took her hand and kissed her fingers, and then let himself out.

Elsa sat down on the couch and took deep breaths, smiling behind her hands. She was beginning to see why Anna liked kissing Kristoff so much.

~###~

Bern strapped the saddle bags onto his horse, a black gelding with a white mark on his face that gave him his name, Star. The castle groom had already saddled him and was holding the reins. Bern was in traveling clothes with sturdy boots. It would take him most of the day to reach his family home in the foothills to the south. He hoped he could get there in time to bid his father farewell. He led the horse out of the stable and ran into Kristoff, who was in a blue shirt and black trousers, a leather riding jacket slung over his shoulder.

"How about I ride along with you? Sven needs the exercise," Kristoff said.

"I'm really not in the mood for company, Kristoff. Some other time maybe." Bern mounted Star, and rode away.

Within a few minutes, he heard unshod hoofbeats behind him on the causeway. He turned and saw Sven and Kristoff. Kristoff caught up to him in the marketplace as they both turned south towards the road that led along the shore, where the wealthy gentry of Arendelle had their family homes.

"So how's our new iceberg?" Kristoff asked conversationally.

"Vilrun says it hasn't moved. It makes a convenient prison, and we don't have the bother of feeding or guarding them this way," Bern said.

"Are you worried they'll row to shore?" Kristoff asked.

"Vilrun is worrying about that. You can go back to the castle and ask him if you're concerned," Bern replied.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"I'm trying to be nice about it, but yes."

"The thing is, Anna told me where you're going and strongly suggested I come along," Kristoff said. "She seemed to think you have a hard time with family."

"Kristoff, I can handle this. Please tell Anna I'll be fine," Bern replied.

"What was the name of your youngest brother? The one that's the same age as me?"

"Timothy."

"Would Timothy let you go alone?"

"You're not actually my brother, Kristoff."

"Anna seems to think that at some point, I'll be your brother-in-law, so let's skip all the details and pretend I'm already your brother," Kristoff said.

"Weddings are fairly important details, Kristoff," Bern replied. He couldn't decide if he was annoyed at Kristoff, or relieved that he wouldn't leave him alone.

"I gave you some advice yesterday that already turned out well. I've got good judgment. You'll be glad I'm along," Kristoff said.

"How do you know about that?" Bern demanded.

Kristoff shrugged. "Anna. She's probably more excited than Elsa about the fact that you finally kissed Elsa."

"Is everything that happens between Elsa and myself going to get back to you through Anna?"

"Get used to not having any secrets," Kristoff said. "It's a good thing I've got your best interests at heart."

Bern was in an internal tug of war right now between the devastation of the news about his father, and getting teased by Kristoff about the happiest thing in his life. He couldn't decide whether to laugh, or to hit Kristoff over the head with a saddlebag, so he chose a compromise. "You can come with me if you'll shut up."

"Okay."

Then the disconcerting thing was, Kristoff really did stop talking, which left Bern alone with his thoughts and that wasn't a good place for him to be.

A few hours later, Bern pulled Star to a halt next to a glade of maple and elm trees. The sunlight filtered down through the leaves, spackling a pattern of sun and shadow along the ground. The breeze from the seashore to their right was a welcome bit of cool on this hot day, the sound of the waves mixing with the bird song in the trees. Bern took off his riding hat and wiped the sweat from his hairline with a handkerchief. "Do you want some lunch?" he asked Kristoff.

"Yep. I brought carrots."

"Of course you did."

Sven and Star ambled over to drink from a stream as Bern unpacked the food he'd gotten from the castle kitchens and handed Kristoff a loaf of rye bread and a wedge of cheese. There was also a bag of fruit and extra waterskins. Kristoff got out the carrots and set down a handful for Sven, and offered one to Star, then bit into another carrot. He hacked off some bread with his belt knife and a chunk of cheese and handed it to Bern. Bern traded him for some dried fruit and a couple of peaches that were starting to get squishy. They sat down on a log in the sun dappled glade and stretched out their legs. Kristoff was keeping his promise to not talk, and Bern was wishing he had something to distract him from the reason he was going home, so he broke the silence.

"You probably think I've taken things too slow with Elsa," Bern ventured. Kristoff had a forcefulness about him that Bern envied, and while he couldn't be like that himself, he did want Kristoff to understand some of his thinking.

"Nah, you move as fast as the average glacier, and Elsa has a thing for ice. She probably likes that about you," Kristoff flipped back at him.

Bern stifled the urge to throw a peach pit at Kristoff. "Just because Anna wanted a relationship the moment she met you doesn't mean her sister is like that."

"Anna held me off for a while too, Bern. I finally had to insist I wasn't her brother. I'm the one that made the first move. You were there for part of it, remember? If you're going to sit back and wait for Elsa to ask you to move faster, you're going to grow moss," Kristoff said.

"It was easy for you! You don't understand what I've had to do with my feelings for Elsa," Bern insisted.

"Easy? I had to stab a traitor, win a war, get my head ripped off, and then tell Anna I loved her when I thought she hated me. After that, I got to decide that Anna really should want me instead of an actual prince who already knew how to read. Now I'm trying to go from being an ice harvester to a guy that can live in a castle and hang out with you government types. What part of that was easy?"

"You made it look easy," Bern amended.

"Yeah, I made it look easy because I didn't sit back and wait until it actually was easy. It's this thing about life – you just get in and do it. Only the guys on the sidelines think running the race looks easy."

Bern went back to eating, the only sound the waves breaking against the beach across the road, and the wind rustling through the leaves on the trees above them. Somehow, it was easier for Kristoff than for him because Kristoff's obstacles made more sense. Kristoff had things to fight, and Bern had defined the fight in his life as dodging the fight he couldn't win.

"Can I just tell you what this is like for me?" Bern asked at last. His reasons had to make sense to someone besides himself, if he could just get Kristoff to listen to him.

Kristoff shrugged and chewed.

"Romance is a feeling, Kristoff. True love is a decision about how you're going to treat someone. Yes, I've been romantically attracted to Elsa since the first time I saw her two years ago when I joined the Council. But she was so shy and withdrawn, not just with me, with everyone, still cut off from Anna and the whole world. She needed time and space, so I put those needs ahead of what I wanted. I wanted my feelings for her to be more than just physical attraction, so every time our needs have conflicted, I've put her needs ahead of my own. She's needed me to be slow; she's needed space. That's why I've gone so slowly with her," Bern explained.

"Mm-hmm, and then last night? Keep going?" Kristoff prodded.

Bern managed a laugh. "I didn't realize she was doing the same thing to me, and keeping her distance because she thought that was safer for me." He shrugged and smiled. "So it turned out fine. She realized she won't hurt me if she touches me. Now we can get the mistakes and misunderstandings out of the way, and work on an actual relationship."

"So is this the part where you thank me? I'm a great matchmaker, right?"

"Sure, Kristoff, thanks. I can take it from here, okay?"

"I'll decide whether or not you need my help," Kristoff said, finishing off the last of the bread.

Bern scowled as something he'd been worrying about all morning came into focus. "The thing is, you're going to find a lot to criticize about me if you come home with me. I don't do well around my mother."

"You've mentioned that before."

"Yeah." Bern swallowed the last bite of peach and sucked the juice off his fingers. "I don't fight back. She says and does some crazy things, and I just take it. Letting her have her way is the fastest way to get her to be quiet and leave me alone. I don't defend myself; I don't try to make her see my point of view; I don't do anything."

"Okay."

Bern took another bite of rye bread and sharp cheese and wondered whether he should say anything more. Bern was a merchant turned political economist, and he knew he'd never be as tough as Kristoff. Not many men were, except other ice harvesters and maybe some of the Castle Guardsmen. But being around his mother brought out everything he already hated about himself, his weaknesses and fears, and made them worse. He didn't need Kristoff seeing that, and repeating it to Anna, who would then talk to Elsa. "If I ask you to leave, will you go and not insist on staying?"

"If you're doing all right, sure," Kristoff replied.

"If I ask you to leave, will you leave even if I'm not doing all right?" Bern asked. If he was doing fine, there would be no reason to ask Kristoff to leave. He needed him to leave if he was falling apart because he didn't want anyone else to see him like that.

Kristoff gave him a long look. "Why would I leave if you need help?"

"Because I might need you to leave more than I need help. Look, remember that talk where you admitted that sometimes you just have to get away, and if you can't, you say things that you regret later? That's why you still take off into the mountains."

"Yeah."

"So I get that way too. Only I can't get away from my mother. My father's dying. I have to stay there and deal with it. The next best thing is to have other people get away from me, so I don't do or say something I'll regret later. Does that make sense to you?"

"In a weird sort of way, yes," Kristoff conceded.

"So will you leave when I ask you to? No matter what else is going on or even if you think I need help?" Bern pressed.

"Okay."

"All right."

Kristoff got up and fed an apple core to Sven.

Bern cut himself another piece of bread. This was probably the last full meal he was going to have for a few days, since he was too wound up at home to eat much.

When they were on their way again, Kristoff mercifully fell silent. The rhythmic sound of horse hooves on the packed dirt road formed the backdrop for thoughts that were too chaotic to produce anything useful.

It was late afternoon when Bern turned in to the lane leading to his family estate, the sun still bright on the long day of an early summer afternoon. The lane was lined with poplar trees, forming columns on each side. It was meant to look stately; Bern always thought it suggested a tunnel leading to a trap with no way to escape.

"Wow," was Kristoff's only comment when the house came into view. Bern didn't reply. The house had been in his family for generations, with additions added whenever it seemed necessary. It was a two-story brick edifice with turret rooms on the corners and columns supporting a second story walkout balcony. The stables and outbuildings were around back, and a forest encroached on what used to be a sizable garden plot. Ivy clung to the brick, creeping over windows. It was an old, stately manor in need of more attention than it was getting.

Servants spotted their approach and came to meet them. Bern dismounted and let a groom lead Star away. Kristoff offered some reassurances to Sven, who was then willing to follow Star.

"Bernard! You made it in time! Oh, son, I'm so glad you came so quickly! I knew you would. Your father has been asking for you all day. Seeing you has been his dying wish." His mother waved at them, holding her skirts up to move quickly down the front stairs.

"Hello, Mother," Bern said, as his mother hugged and kissed him.

"And you brought a friend! Could this be Kristoff? I've heard so much about you. I wish it was a happier occasion that brought you here, but you are welcome to our home," Bern's mother said, offering her hand to Kristoff.

"Mother, this is Kristoff. Kristoff, this is my mother, Lady Nadja."

She turned to give orders to a servant about getting guest quarters ready, and Kristoff turned to stare at Bern, and then back at his mother. Bern snapped a hard look at him to cut off whatever Kristoff was about to say. He was sure it was a comment about how much he looked like his mother, and he didn't need the reminder of how similar they were. His mother's black, tightly curled hair spiraled past her shoulders, and they had the same gray eyes and full lips. Even his long fingers were inherited from his mother. But then his mother was turning back and Bern replaced the expression with the carefully schooled politeness he always used in her presence.

"Come in, both of you. Dinner will be ready in an hour. Kristoff, if you want to freshen up or rest after your journey, we'll have a room ready for you shortly. Bernard, your room is waiting for you," Lady Nadja said, picking up her heavy black skirt to precede them up the stairs.

"I'd prefer the guest quarters as well, if it's no extra trouble," Bern said.

"It would be extra trouble, but if that's what you want, of course we'll do it," Lady Nadja replied, snapping her fingers to get the butler's attention. "Go see your father, son. The physician doesn't expect him to make it through the night. Pastor Anders has already conducted the Commendation for the Dying; we didn't know if you would arrive in time. I'm going to get acquainted with Kristoff. Off with you, now." She made shooing motions at Bern.

With a final glance at Kristoff, Bern turned away and went through the double oak doors into his house.


	6. Chapter 6 - Rodmund's Confession

**Chapter 6 – Rodmund's Confession**

Rodmund was already waiting in the small council room when Elsa and Anna arrived. They exchanged greetings, and then Elsa said, "Have you heard about Bern's father?"

"Yes, just a few minutes ago. I'm so sorry to hear it. He was a good man. I've sent word for Mirabelle to attend to Lady Nadja at their estate," Rodmund said.

"Is your wife good friends with Lady Nadja?" Elsa asked as the three of them seated themselves around the small table at the center of the room.

"They are acquainted," Rodmund said carefully. "The friendship was warmer before Lord Tyvard's stroke, but Mirabelle can help with settling the estate and such. I'm sure Adele will go with her. The two of them will make sure Lady Nadja has the support she needs."

"And her son will be there too," Anna pointed out. "That's the whole reason Bern is going, right?"

"Yes, well," Rodmund said, and cleared his throat.

Elsa remembered Bern's comments about how his mother had poisoned all her friends against him, and wondered just what Rodmund had heard from his wife about how Bern treated Lady Nadja. She was doubly glad that Anna had thought to send Kristoff with him. Bern could hold his own on the Council, but she had no idea how he would handle a room full of older women who all thought he was a terrible son because he'd chosen to remain on the Royal Council rather than go home to take care of his parents.

"We'll talk about the memorial service soon," Elsa said. "Are we waiting for Councilor Harold before we start the meeting?"

"No, I didn't invite Harold," Rodmund said. He kept pulling at his necktie as if it was tied too tightly.

"Aren't we discussing the economic concerns that Bern raised yesterday? Bern said that Harold would be able to fill us in on anything we needed to know," Elsa said.

"I see. This is actually about a more personal matter, your Majesty. I was wondering if you wanted to discuss it in private first," Rodmund said diplomatically, with a glance at Anna.

"Oh! Well, if it's personal you may just as well save Elsa the time of repeating it all to me later and tell me now," Anna said, leaning her chin into her hands.

"I'm afraid she's telling the truth," Elsa said with a resigned laugh.

"Yes, well," Rodmund said, clearing his throat again.

Elsa couldn't recall seeing Rodmund so uncomfortable before.

"Your Majesty, have you ever heard of Prince Dominic of Easthaven?" Rodmund asked.

"Yes, of course I've heard of him. He's one of the princes that takes assignments under the military defense treaties that Easthaven maintains. He's King Frederick's younger brother," Elsa said.

"I know all about him," Anna jumped in. "Gustav made me study that treaty for a solid week. Arendelle and four other city-states who are too small to field their own military have allied with Easthaven for defense. The main value of the treaty is to scare off people. No one is going to attack us because they know Easthaven is treaty-bound to attack them back. When a country goes crazy, like Weselton, and attacks anyway, Easthaven sends a military force with an advisor to settle matters. Then we have to pay them even more money than the stipend we pay regularly whether we get attacked or not. Prince Dominic is one of those military advisors, and also works on the financial settlements and stuff. He travels all over. Why do you ask? Is he the one that will be assigned to help us against Weselton?"

"I don't know which military advisor Easthaven will send," Rodmund said. "King Agdar met Prince Dominic several times and was very impressed with him. I've met him briefly. He's about thirty now, a very confident and intelligent man. Obviously, he's spent his entire life in training for the job he's doing now, and he does well."

"Father knew him?" Elsa asked.

"Yes. King Agdar was always concerned about Arendelle's lack of military power. He cultivated relationships with as many people from Easthaven as he could. At times, we expected him to propose that Arendelle start fielding its own standing army and navy," Rodmund said. "Harold and Tyvard had a hard time persuading him that Arendelle simply couldn't carry the tax burden of a standing military, not to mention the fact that our population isn't so large we can afford to take hundreds or thousands of men away from trades and farming."

"How is this a personal issue for Elsa?" Anna asked.

"I'm getting there. As I said, King Agdar was very impressed with Prince Dominic personally."

"The betrothal," Elsa interrupted.

Rodmund raised his eyebrows and gestured for Elsa to continue.

"Father told me he was arranging a marriage for me. He said he would tell me more after he got back from his trip, but then they never returned. Was it this Prince Dominic?" Elsa asked. She buried her hands in her skirt and took a deep breath. She rubbed her toe on the carpet, and was relieved it was still carpet and not ice.

"You were almost betrothed?" Anna nearly shouted. "Why didn't you ever mention it?"

"It didn't happen," Elsa said. "Father died. No one else ever said anything about it, and I didn't want to know so I never asked. Did he talk to you about it then?"

"Yes, your Majesty, the entire Council knew about his intentions," Rodmund said.

"Bern didn't object?" Anna demanded.

"Bern wasn't on the Council, your Highness. This all took place two years before his appointment," Rodmund said. "We, that is, Gustav and I, hoped to tell Bern about all of this today. It's all very, well, I believe I'm making a muddle of things. This is quite different from our usual run of business."

"Not at all," Elsa replied evenly. "The marriage of the queen is as much a political matter as tariffs and trade agreements."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Well, Father may have thought that, but no one else does."

"Why do you think Father thought that?" Elsa asked.

"Oh, just something he said once," Anna said.

"What was that?"

"I probably shouldn't have brought it up," Anna said.

"Probably, but now that you did, you may as well say it," Elsa said. She was holding the arms of the chair, and there was no frost so far.

"He told me once that I could marry where I pleased as long as you did as your rank required," Anna said.

"That sounds like Father," Elsa said, dropping her eyes to study a spot on the carpet.

"Yes, you were important enough that he cared who you married. I was the silly little sister whose life didn't matter," Anna said bitterly.

Elsa stared at her. "No, he thought I was so stupid that he had to make every decision for me. You were the one he trusted to run her own life and make her own choices."

Anna stared back. "Are we talking about the same man?"

"King Agdar. Father. Yes. The one who never asked me a question in my entire life, but he was always there to tell me how to think and how to feel. Conceal it, Elsa, don't feel. You'll be fine, Elsa. Just do as you're told, Elsa. Calm down, Elsa. Maybe someday you'll get it right and we'll let you out of your room, Elsa. Run the country, Elsa, but don't think I'll even tell you who I want you to marry. That man, right?" Elsa said. Frost was beginning to spread down the arms of her chair. Elsa looked down at it in horror.

"At least he talked to you, Elsa. Sometimes I wondered if he even knew my name. I was supposed to be happy with a new dress and a doll, but I was too stupid to even have history lessons. I'm surprised he bothered to hire a tutor to teach me to read. I was always supposed to go play even though I never had a playmate; I never learned anything; I never knew anything. You were the one they obsessed about. You had all their attention. Even when they were with me, all they thought about was you," Anna said, starting to cry.

"I didn't want their attention!" Elsa cried. "I wanted them to leave me alone and stop telling me how to be good enough!"

"And I was so tired of being alone! Even when they were with me, I was still alone because they never stopped worrying about you!"

The temperature dropped and snow started to fall. Ice frosted over the windowpanes and the mirror on the wall.

"Your Majesty, your Highness, I deeply regret the pain I've caused," Rodmund said. "Perhaps we could continue this conversation at a later date."

Elsa was crying hard. She wanted to be queenly and dignified and insist Rodmund continue. But she'd frozen the room and set off a blizzard. "I'm so sorry," she blubbered.

Rodmund left quietly.

Elsa put her head down on the table. Ice spread over the table top and she didn't care. Yesterday was gone, with all its victory and happiness. She was still the person she'd always been. Anna cried too. Elsa didn't even dare reach for her hand.

Several minutes later, the door opened again. "Girls," Gerda said.

They both rushed her at the same time, and she somehow managed to hug them both. The three of them ended up on the room's couch. Gerda didn't try to say anything sensible. She just let them cry. When Anna started to shiver, Elsa felt her shaking and got her own sobs under control. _Think of Anna_, she told herself. Anna, her sister who had come after her and never given up on her, even if she did mistakenly think that Father's attention had been a good thing. Anna hurt too, and she was cold because Elsa was making it snow. Elsa's crying eased. She unclenched her fists and reached for Anna's hand and Gerda's hand, thinking how much she loved Anna, and how grateful she was for Gerda. Blue sparkles whirled around the room, and the frost and ice wisped away. Snow stopped falling.

Anna sniffed and straightened up. "Maybe next time we should talk about economics."

"I'm sorry, Anna. It seems like there was more than a closed door between us all those years," Elsa said.

"There, there, your Majesty, your Highness," Gerda said, patting down Anna until she found a handkerchief in her pocket and gave it to her.

"Gerda, have I never asked you to call me Elsa?" Elsa asked.

"I keep telling her to call me Anna, but she won't do it," Anna said.

"All right then, girls, whatever you want, I'll do," Gerda said, anxious to comfort them.

"You tried to tell me once, Gerda," Anna said. "I remember you telling me that Elsa was trapped. I thought you meant the door was locked, but it wasn't locked."

"I couldn't tell you, Anna. King Agdar said he would dismiss me," Gerda said. "I tried to do what I could to help you both, but it was never enough."

"Gerda, did mother never say anything?" Elsa asked.

"Not to me. Your mother never did talk very much," Gerda said.

"Even when she talked, she never said anything," Anna said. "She would talk to me, but only about clothes and horses and things that didn't matter. We never talked about anything that mattered. I felt so alone, even when she was talking to me."

"I don't even remember what mother's voice sounded like. She only came to see me when father came too, and he did the talking," Elsa said.

"She sounds like you," Anna said.

"Anna's right, Elsa. Sometimes I hear you, and it's like listening to Queen Idun. She didn't laugh very much, but I think your laugh sounds the same too," Gerda said.

"Could she sing?" Elsa asked.

"I never heard her sing," Gerda said.

"Me neither," Anna added.

"Things were so different on either side of my bedroom door," Elsa said sadly.

"Different worlds, different parents, different sisters," Anna listed. "Nothing in our lives ever came together."

Elsa felt the ice tugging her down again, insisting she was too different to make this transition out of her childhood and into reality. Yesterday she'd thought she'd conquered this problem for good, and would have perfect control of her powers for the rest of her life. And it was only a fluke victory – she would never stop struggling with her magic. _Don't feel it_. With the ease of long practice and the familiar despair at being herself, she shut down her feelings and went back to willpower. "We have to focus, Anna. We've got so much to do, and we're already shorthanded because Gustav and Bern are gone. Gerda, did you hear that Lord Tyvard is dying?"

"Yes, Elsa. Not much happens in the castle that I don't hear about. I'm terribly sorry for Lord Bern and Lady Nadja," Gerda said.

"I don't even know how to go about organizing a memorial service," Elsa confessed. "I hid in my room when my parents died. I made Anna handle that whole ordeal alone."

Anna took her hand and squeezed it in silent forgiveness.

"Lady Councilor Marda may be able to help," Gerda said. "Her husband died and was buried only weeks before your own parents died. We were all impressed with how strong and gracious she was through that time. Councilor Vilrun was involved in organizing your coronation and did such a good job. If you don't mind a word of advice from a housekeeper. I beg your pardon."

"You've never been just a housekeeper, Gerda. Anna, you know Gustav well enough to know his preferences. Can you take the lead in preparing us for Easthaven's visit in connection with Weselton's attack?" Elsa said. She could work; she could solve problems. She would not believe the ice that tried to tell her she couldn't handle this world. She let go of the momentary despair that she hadn't changed at all. She'd stopped the snow just now, and she could face these problems without hiding again. That was a change, and a good one.

"Of course I will," Anna said. She scrubbed her face one last time, sniffed hard, and folded the handkerchief.

Elsa stood up, smoothing down her burgundy skirt and consciously keeping her hands from going back into fists. "Gerda, I need a few minutes to compose myself, but then I need to find out what Rodmund intended to tell me. Would you come with me? Anna, I love you, but I think I need to hear this without you in the room. I promise I'll either tell you about it myself, or let Gerda tell you everything. I want you to know, but I might not be the best one to tell you."

Anna hugged her. "You're doing just fine," she whispered, which startled tears out of Elsa.

"I'm trying," Elsa said, blinking back more tears.

"That's good enough," Gerda said. "I'm going to delegate a few tasks, and I'll be right back up to come with you. Will I find you here?"

"I'll be in my sitting room," Elsa said. "Anna, would you find Marda and Vilrun and alert them that they'll head the committee to plan Lord Tyvard's memorial service? Then you can draft anyone you want for your committee on preparing for Easthaven's visit. I was impressed with Lady Charlotte when she was here during the Battle of Arendelle. She and Alan may be able to help with hosting. Harold has met delegates from Easthaven before as well, but the final decisions are yours. Please keep me updated."

Anna hugged her again, then kissed her cheek. "We can do this together, sister."

Elsa hugged her back. "Yes, we can. No more closed doors." She stepped back and smoothed her skirt again. It gave her something to do with her hands that wouldn't let her ball them into fists. "If you'll excuse me, please."

Gerda and Anna nodded. Elsa let herself out of the room and walked to her sitting room. She knelt down by the fireplace and got a match out of the canister. She'd lost control of the ice and snow, but she'd gotten it back under control and kept going. Was it enough to make the fire work? Elsa's hands shook. It took several matches before the fire caught. She blew on it, adding sticks, hoping that if the fire got big enough it would change what she could already tell. This fire wasn't working; there was no warmth.

Elsa put her hand right into the flames and felt nothing. She took her hand back out before her sleeve could catch fire and blinked fast. She didn't need to cry about it. It would work again soon; she'd get it right again soon. Deep breath. Yesterday had still happened. She'd had perfect control of her magic; she'd loved her enemies; she'd danced barehanded with half the kingdom; her people wanted her to sing; Bern had kissed her; she'd felt the warmth of the fire – everything good was still there, tucked safely into yesterday where the present couldn't change it. Yesterday she had liked herself.

The door opened, and Elsa startled.

"Oh, good, you're feeling better." It was Olaf, waddling in with his huge grin. "I came to find you when you got sad, but I had to come all the way back from the village. They're still having a party today."

"How did you know I needed you?" Elsa asked, smiling back at him.

"I always know. Anna too. I know where you are, and I know if you need a warm hug. If you're happy now, I'll go find Anna," Olaf said.

"You what? You know where we are?" Elsa asked.

"How do you think I found you on the North Mountain, Elsa?" Olaf asked, walking over and plopping into her lap for a warm hug. "And I found Anna in the library when Prince Hans locked her in. And I found Anna crying in the portrait gallery when she was sad about Kristoff months ago. And I knew you went over the causeway to fight the Battle of Arendelle. I just always know where both of you are and when you need me to come cheer you up."

Elsa gazed at him, bemused at this new knowledge. She reached up and put her hand right into his snow cloud, feeling the soft nothing of a cloud puff slip through her fingers. Perhaps she had to feel warmth in order to tell when something was cool, because right now, Olaf's snow cloud lacked sensation, just like the fire.

"Olaf, when you find Anna, please tell her what you just told me, because I don't think she knows," Elsa said.

"Okay! I'll go now," Olaf said. He gave Elsa another warm hug and scurried out of the room.

Elsa pushed the burning logs apart with her hand so the fire would go out more quickly. It was summer, after all, and she didn't need a fire burning in her sitting room in the middle of the day.

Elsa met Gerda in the corridor by her sitting room.

"I sent word we would meet Lord Rodmund in his private study," Gerda said. "I hope that didn't presume too much."

"Of course not."

Elsa and Gerda walked through the narrow passageway that was the only link on the second floor between the south and east wings of the castle where the royal suites were, along with the council rooms and library, and the west wing of the castle where the Councilors had suites on the second floor. The Castle Guards, including Kristoff, bunked on the ground floor of the west wing. She hadn't been to this part of the castle since Kristoff had brought her back after the Battle of Arendelle. Idly, she wondered which door led to Bern's suite.

Gerda knocked at a door, and Rodmund opened it and gestured them into his study. He had a lacquered pine desk, with heavy chairs upholstered in leather and rivets. The floor to ceiling bookshelf was so full that books were laid crossways across the top of the other books. A pigeonhole hutch over a writing desk had scrolls and letters tucked in several locations. Elsa looked around at the clutter and guessed that Rodmund knew exactly where everything was.

"I apologize for my outburst, Rodmund. I'm doing much better now. I'm ready to hear what you wanted to tell me about Prince Dominic," Elsa said, drawing herself up to her full height. She came about to Rodmund's ears, and he was easily five times bigger around than she was. Yet he'd never made her feel small and insignificant the way her father had.

"Please sit down, your Majesty. Gerda, thank you for responding so quickly," Rodmund said, gesturing them to take seats.

Gerda curtsied before she sat down in one of the chairs and took Elsa's bare hand.

"It was Prince Dominic, then," Elsa prodded, squeezing Gerda's hand. "Father intended for me to marry Prince Dominic."

"Yes, your Majesty. He thought the alliance with Easthaven would give us more military strength than the treaty alone. Some of King Agdar's intentions involved offering Arendelle's harbor for their navy, and allowing them to station garrisons here for training exercises and the like. He wanted more military in Arendelle. Given Prince Dominic's status in Easthaven, and his skill as a military advisor, King Agdar saw a marriage between yourself and Prince Dominic as a way to benefit Arendelle," Rodmund said.

"I see. Did you agree with his conclusion?" Elsa asked.

"All of us on the Council agreed that such a marriage would have resulted in more of a military presence in Arendelle. There was some disagreement about whether that would entirely benefit Arendelle," Rodmund said carefully. "Gerhard was very much in favor of the alliance."

"Were you?" Elsa asked.

"I had some concerns," Rodmund admitted. "Easthaven is so strong that I worried that Arendelle would simply be absorbed and lose her identity as a separate country. It was partly because of that concern that I was not disappointed that the marriage did not take place. It was also a concern that we could not discern a motive for Easthaven to enter into the marriage – a political motive, I mean. When two countries mingle their royalty through marriage, there is usually a political or geographical benefit on both sides. Despite several conversations with King Agdar, we were not able to discern Easthaven's motives, and I'm afraid that led to suspicions that Easthaven truly intended to take over Arendelle, rather than accept us as equals."

Elsa nodded.

"I understand King Agdar's thinking in some ways. His personality was more than a match for Easthaven, and a son-in-law. I presume he intended to keep Arendelle's integrity intact. However, once he was gone, that barrier between us and Easthaven also disappeared. The Royal Council does not have the authority to stand against the Queen and Prince Consort, especially since Arendelle does not have an aristocracy with the authority to insist the monarchy respect certain rights," Rodmund said.

Rodmund feared the power struggle, Elsa realized, and he didn't trust her to stand with them against an ambitious husband. They would have lost before the battle was joined because their titles were not hereditary, but came with their appointment to the Royal Council. Arendelle was too small to carve into estates for dukes, earls and the like, unless someone wanted a mountain suitable only for raising goats. Any titles the crown bestowed were lifetime grants of responsibility, not hereditary investments of land and power. Although Kristoff was going to need a title when he married Anna. Her mind went wandering down a tangent that was more pleasant than listening to what Rodmund was saying.

Elsa pulled her thoughts back to the conversation and pointed out, "It does appear that Arendelle needs more military protection than in the past. In just one year, we've weathered a land invasion, and now this invasion by sea. The treaty with Easthaven doesn't seem to be effective in deterring the people who have decided to hate me personally."

"It is not unusual for a new monarch to face challenges. Once others see that the attacks failed, they may cease to think we are an easy target," Rodmund said.

"I'm not sure I want to take that risk, Rodmund. If the third attack succeeds, I could see my people conquered and Arendelle pillaged. If I could forestall that fate by marriage, perhaps that is my duty as queen. I must do what is best for my people," Elsa said.

These attacks were motivated by a hatred of her and her powers. Her former councilor, Gerhard, and the Duke of Weselton wouldn't have wanted to conquer her country if Arendelle had a normal queen. Therefore, it was her duty to do what was necessary to protect her people from the unintended effects of having someone like her as their queen. The room didn't even freeze when she thought that and Elsa breathed easier. She had control, and that was much more predictable than having feelings.

Rodmund nodded pensively.

"I could invest all of you with hereditary titles, Rodmund, surely I can do that even if I can't give you all an estate. Perhaps it is time Arendelle followed England's lead in working with the nobility to guarantee certain rights. Would that help ease your concern about Easthaven absorbing Arendelle entirely?" Elsa asked.

"Not entirely, but it would be a start," Rodmund said. "Your Majesty, the betrothal negotiations had progressed quite far by the time King Agdar and Queen Idun were lost at sea."

"How far?" Elsa asked.

"Gerda, may I depend on your discretion to not repeat what you're about to hear? Or perhaps you could be excused?" Rodmund suggested.

Elsa's hand tightened on Gerda's. "I think Gerda has already proven beyond any doubt that she is able to keep a secret."

"Yes, your Majesty. Yes, Lord High Councilor," Gerda agreed.

"The betrothal agreement had been finalized. We had received the signed betrothal agreement from Easthaven. King Agdar counter-signed it, and instructed Gustav to send it to Easthaven before he left on his fatal trip. Gustav delayed, for various reasons. Then there was the furor about their ship being lost at sea. When that calmed down, it seemed things had changed so drastically," Rodmund said quietly, not meeting her eyes. "We didn't send the signed betrothal agreement back to Easthaven. We burned it, along with all the correspondence that suggested the agreement had been finalized. Gustav and I burned everything that obligated you to marry Prince Dominic."

Elsa abruptly stood up and stepped away from him. "You what?"

Rodmund looked at her directly and repeated, "We burned your betrothal agreement. Then we wrote to Easthaven and told them King Agdar had changed his mind about the marriage and refused to sign anything before he died. They didn't object, and we hoped that would be end of it. Four years passed. Yesterday morning, Gustav received a letter from Prince Dominic. He stated that he still intends to honor his obligations under the betrothal agreement; he didn't press his suit earlier out of respect for your feelings upon the death of your parents; he begs permission to wait on you in person to come to an agreement between your two countries that could be mutually beneficial; he has heard of your beauty and hopes that any union may be as much about love as about duty; he is your humble servant forever and etcetera. I can give you the letter."

"Father wanted me to marry him, and you burned his signature?" Elsa said, her eyebrows drawing down in outrage. King Agdar may have had some failings as a father, but he had still been the king, and Rodmund had vowed to serve him, not countermand his decisions as soon as he was dead.

"Yes, your Majesty," Rodmund said.

"You didn't even ask me about it?" Elsa asked. "I've trusted you and Gustav more than anyone else in my government. How could you do this?" Ice started to pool around Elsa's feet. Gerda held her hand, but the ice still spread out from her feet and frost rimed the hearthstone.

"Your Majesty, I can offer you no excuses, only an explanation. Four years ago, we barely heard you speak. Despite your intelligence, you were withdrawn and timid. Gustav has met Prince Dominic. He is a very forceful and charismatic man, ambitious and driven. Gustav did not think your personalities would mix well in a marriage – he worried that Prince Dominic would overwhelm you. You know how Gustav is about his daughters. Your Majesty, I'm sorry and I take responsibility," Rodmund said. His brown eyes were serious under his bushy gray eyebrows, the lines on his face fallen into regret.

"You didn't think I could handle the marriage on a personal level? That's why you did it?" Elsa demanded.

"Yes, along with our concerns about Easthaven absorbing Arendelle. It's been four years since then. We've learned the real reason you were so withdrawn, and we've all come to see your strength and good judgment. If you and Prince Dominic should come to an agreement between yourselves at this time, you would have our full support and encouragement. But the woman we know now was not the girl we were concerned about four years ago. That's the only explanation I can offer you," Rodmund said.

Elsa nodded slowly. "I see. I'll need some time to think about this, and how I will respond to this confession. Was there anything else you and Gustav decided would be best for me that I should know about? Any other agreements that were burned or policies that were set aside?"

"No, your Majesty," Rodmund said.

"Good day to you, Rodmund," Elsa said shortly.

She left the room, head held high, lips quivering. Gerda came with her and walked her back to her sitting room. Elsa left frozen footprints all the way through the corridor that melted into the carpet. She desperately wanted to talk this through with someone she could trust. Rodmund and Gustav had meant the world to her, and now she found out they had their own agenda and didn't think she could take care of herself. Bern and Kristoff were gone. Anna had too many of her own issues about father to be able to offer useful advice. Gerda was wonderful, but she had no education in politics and government.

"Thank you for coming with me," Elsa said to Gerda as they got back to her sitting room.

"I'll bring you some lunch, dearie," Gerda answered. "Maybe we could talk for a bit."

Elsa nodded as Gerda left, and sat down on her couch. Gerda wasn't the one she wanted to talk to. She took a deep breath and exhaled into her hands. Other people dealt with difficulties without freezing the whole world. She could too.

She wanted something of Bern's to hold onto right now. She opened a dresser drawer and got out the handkerchief he'd given her on Christmas Day and that she'd deliberately forgotten to return. She rubbed her thumbs over the monogram. If it was her duty to marry Prince Dominic, then the kisses she'd shared with Bern were going to make things more difficult, not less, yet she still drew comfort from the thought of his love for her. She couldn't fathom why Rodmund had invited him to this meeting to hear about Prince Dominic. It would have been terribly awkward if he'd been there. As queen, she had to make this decision about Prince Dominic based on the best interests of Arendelle, with no other considerations.

"I'm sorry, Bern. I wish I hadn't let things progress past friendship yesterday. I was foolish to think my heart could make its own choices. Now I've lost you as a friend when I needed you most," she whispered to no one.

Everyone was gone, and she was as alone as she'd ever been. She didn't even notice the snowflakes hanging in the air. It seemed like they'd been there all along.


	7. Chapter 7 - Bern's Mother

**Chapter 7 – Bern's Mother**

**Seventeen years ago . . .**

Nadja was in a fury of despair that she'd lost yet another one of her children to a fever. Ever since the first one died, she'd set aside every other interest to study heat, fire and fever to learn how to protect the rest of them. Despite her best efforts, they kept dying and leaving her, not even recognizing her at the end when the fevers brightened their eyes past the point where they knew what they were seeing. Every cooling draught and potion she could brew was simply swallowed up by the heat and gone without a trace. She had only one child left now, and in her extremity she'd changed tactics entirely. She couldn't keep them cold enough to keep them alive; this last one she would sear with a heat that would protect him from any further fire. A campfire couldn't burn the same wood again; lightning couldn't set a forest fire if the undergrowth had burned away already; nothing could burn twice.

Nadja took the bottle of liquid fire she'd taken from the cave trolls to the cave near her home where she hid all the supplies and implements that her small-minded neighbors would fear. She poured the fire into a kettle, and steeped it with leaves and brewed it with bark, mixing the fire with enough growing things to wrap the heat in the cool things that grew on earth. The brew took days to steep and simmer; the recipe growing as she combined ingredients from other healing potions to create a potion that had never been made before.

She waited another few short days until her husband was gone away on business again, so he would not object to what she had to do. He was always gone away on business, but even when he was home he was dismissive and distant with her. She couldn't live with the loneliness; her children were supposed to keep her company and they kept going away as well – into graves. She had only one child left, and if he died too, then there would be no one left to love her. He must survive; Nadja couldn't bear to be alone.

"Bernard, Mother has medicine for you," she said the evening after Tyvard left, coming into his room where he was dutifully bent over his lesson book.

He knew better than to say anything, but the look he gave her was sullen. He'd been difficult ever since Timothy's funeral; not even cheering up when she'd bought him a new set of books for his tenth birthday. She'd tried to explain that they had to spend more time together now that it was only the two of them forever, but he only withdrew further. Her friends said he was growing up, and all children went through stages like this, but she couldn't bear to have him grow up if it happened like this.

"It will keep you from getting sick. Isn't that funny? A medicine that you have to take when you're well? Mother made it special, just for you," she coaxed him, sitting next to him on his tutor's chair and putting an arm around him. He was too thin, no matter how much she piled his plate with food and made him eat every bite before he left the table.

"I don't want it," he said in a low voice, pretending great interest in his Latin grammar lesson.

"You'll take it and thank me for it," she snapped at him. How dare he rebuff her attempts to help him?

He put his head down on his grammar book. "No."

After Timothy's funeral, he'd found a knife somewhere and cut off his hair as short as it would go. She'd always liked it longer, foaming around his face in a tangle of black curls so much like her own. She'd cried when he cut it off, and he hadn't even said he was sorry. No matter how often she searched his room, she couldn't find the knife, and he kept using it; whenever a curl got long enough to cut, it was gone. Just last week, her husband had taken him to have it properly barbered instead of insisting he let it grow back out like she'd wanted. She hated his hair now, and it made her angry that he would put his head down and make her look at it.

Grasping what was left of his bangs, she yanked his head back up, feeling satisfied at his gasp of pain. If he didn't want to get hurt, he shouldn't provoke her like that.

"You'll take the medicine," she said in her quiet and dangerous voice.

"No, I won't! And I won't play the flute! And I won't finish my dinner! I'm going to grow up and do exactly what I want to do all the time and forever and I'll never see you again!" he shouted at her, springing to his feet so suddenly that the chair fell over with a clatter.

She stood up too, calm like steel coming down over her anger. Her nails bit into his cheeks when she forced him to look at her. "You will take the medicine and you will never speak to me like that again." She squeezed until she forced tears from his eyes. "Don't cry, Bernard, you're too old," she said as she dropped his face.

He scrubbed at his eyes with the heels of his hands while she poured medicine into a cup and held it out to him. "Don't make me be the bad guy, son, you know how you hate that."

His chin still shaking, he accepted the cup that she pressed into his hand.

"Drink it so fast you can't taste it," she suggested.

He did as he was told. Other than these occasional outbursts, he really was a good boy. He drained the medicine and coughed, dropping the cup. Instantly, Nadja was by his side, supporting him, crooning comfort. "It's all right, sweetheart. Mother knows best. It's just a bit of medicine to keep you from getting sick. Come sit with Mother."

She led him over to the rocking chair. He was getting too long to fit on her lap anymore, but she pulled him there anyway and rocked him until the shudders stopped.

~###~

**Present day . . .**

Bern glanced around at the front parlor. Nothing ever changed here. He left his hat on a table and ran up the front stairs and to the room where his father had spent the last two years as an invalid since his stroke. Pastor Anders waited in the hall outside his door, standing as Bern approached.

"Is he?" Bern asked.

"Still with us. He's been asking for you," the pastor replied.

Bern knocked once and went in. "Father?"

The curtains were closed, only a few streaks of afternoon sunlight filtered through, putting the candles to shame. The room was closed and hot. The body in the bed was all that remained of a proud and strong man. He was already as thin as a skeleton, with waxy yellow skin and white hair that floated around his head. He wasn't old enough to look that decrepit. When he heard Bern's voice, he turned his head and blinked until his eyes opened.

Bern sat on the chair next to the bed and took his hand, full of regret and remorse. He should have done more, somehow. He shouldn't have abandoned his father here. Perhaps he should have brought him to the castle and hired a nurse, even if it did mean his mother would have come too. All those maybes and should haves didn't mean anything, and he knew it. He'd abandoned his father as the price of freedom from his mother; he didn't love his father more than he feared his mother. And now it was too late.

"I'm so sorry, father," Bern said. "I'm so sorry. I should have, I shouldn't have, I don't know." Tears streaked Bern's cheeks. "Everything should have been different." He couldn't see any way to do anything but exactly what he'd done, but that didn't make it right.

He felt a spastic pressure on his hand. His father was shaking his head back and forth, but Bern couldn't tell if it was a deliberate motion or not. He tried to talk and Bern leaned in to listen, eyes still blurred with tears. The words were garbled. All Bern could make out was "stay away," in a tone of understanding. If anyone could understand what he'd done and why, it would be his father, who was now offering him forgiveness and absolution together. Somehow, that was as heavy a burden as condemnation would have been.

"I'm so sorry," Bern repeated. "I'll take care of her now. I'll make sure Mother has what she needs." He stopped as the full import of his responsibility crashed down on him. This is why he'd never prepared for his father's death. It came with the threat of his mother coming back into his life and demanding he take care of her.

Tyvard's head was rocking back and forth more strongly now. "No," Tyvard said weakly. "Your mother," he stopped and swallowed and coughed. "A real witch," Tyvard managed to say. Then his hand went limp in Bern's. He coughed some more and then was quiet, fallen back into whatever passed for sleep when someone was this close to death's sleep.

It would have been grotesque if it wasn't so sad. Those were likely to be the last words he would ever hear from his father.

~###~

Bern stopped at his childhood room to retrieve an armful of clothes to take down to the guest quarters to dress for dinner. He nodded greetings at the servants. One of them showed him to the guest room that they'd hastily prepared for him. He sent his boots to be brushed and polished while he washed up and changed into a dinner jacket and clean trousers, then knocked on the neighboring room to find Kristoff.

"I don't suppose you brought a dinner jacket?" Bern said.

"I had about three minutes to get ready to leave, with Anna pushing me out the door so I wouldn't miss you. I've got what I'm wearing."

"Come here, and let's see if something of mine will fit you," Bern said.

"Maybe that will get you to crack a smile," Kristoff said, following Bern back to his room. "Hey, your mother's actually pretty nice."

"Yes, she is. As long as everything is exactly the way she wants it, she can charm the spots off a toad," Bern agreed absently. "At least the trousers will be long enough," he said, tossing a pair at Kristoff and then handing him a shirt and blue jacket. Kristoff went back to his room, and when he returned, he was holding himself carefully, managing to get the buttons fastened on the jacket which was far too tight through the shoulders. "If I inhale, I'm going to split out the entire back seam."

"Leave the buttons undone," Bern suggested. "We're not having company tonight, and mother can just assume you don't know how to dress for dinner. Grunt once in a while and tell her you don't know how to read either."

"Do you want me to use a fork or my fingers?" Kristoff asked.

"Either, just as long as you don't lick the plate. Have you ever figured out what to do with a napkin?"

"At least you smiled. I was beginning to think we were here for your funeral instead of your father's," Kristoff said.

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry. I'm going to say the wrong thing about sixty times a day. Did you get to talk to your father?" Kristoff backpedaled.

"A few words," Bern said. He handed Kristoff a necktie that would hide the fact that Kristoff couldn't do up the collar button on Bern's shirt.

"Kristoff, you do know there's more than one fork, right?"

"Oh, does it matter which one I use?"

"Watch me and copy what I do, okay?" Bern said.

"Okay. And I was joking, by the way, I do know there's more than one fork. I once spent an entire afternoon with Anna and Gerda, learning about forks."

"I can make using a fork look easy. Just watch and be amazed," Bern said.

In the formal dining room, the large table was set with only three places, translucent porcelain dishes, goblets, silverware, and finger bowls. Bern looked at the elaborate setting and wondered if his mother was deliberately setting Kristoff up to make a fool out of himself. Not even the castle used that many forks at a state dinner.

They got through the soup course conversing about the roads and the weather without incident. The servants served the main dish, a fileted fish with mushroom sauce and spiced tomatoes and crisp flatbread. Bern pushed the food around on his plate, occasionally taking half a bite and willing himself not to choke on it. Kristoff was putting away food at an impressive rate and Bern toyed with the notion of distracting his mother long enough to dump half his food onto Kristoff's plate before his mother commented about what he wasn't eating. The servants would probably notice though.

"I received word that Lady Adele and Lady Mirabelle will arrive tomorrow," his mother said.

Bern nodded in acknowledgement.

"I met them," Kristoff volunteered. "They came to the awards ceremony after the Battle of Arendelle. And they've been to the castle several times."

"Yes, I'm so glad my friends receive invitations. They come tell me about them later, to keep me company, I suppose. I can't imagine they're gloating about the fact that they still have a connection to the castle's social functions and I don't," Nadja said.

"The castle issued an open invitation to the awards ceremony, mother. Everyone was welcome," Bern said, and then regretted that he'd said even that much.

"I wouldn't have wanted to make you uncomfortable by actually attending, son," Nadja said sweetly.

Bern speared a tomato and then mashed it into a pulp instead of eating it.

"I never have been able to understand why Bernard is so embarrassed to have me around," Nadja confided to Kristoff.

"Ah," Kristoff said, shooting a glance at Bern, who stared at his plate.

"Do you see your mother often, Kristoff? I imagine she's so proud of you."

"My parents died when I was young," Kristoff said.

"How tragic! But there is more than one way to lose a family member. Death may be one of the easier separations, when all is said and done," Nadja went on. "Bernard and I were inseparable when he was young, but boys grow up to be men who forget their mothers. Bernard is very proud and ambitious. He's never been the same since he got a taste of business as a boy, and then his father got him that job in politics. It was blatant nepotism; I know at least a dozen other men who were better qualified. King Agdar never would have accepted him, but his daughter probably isn't as demanding about her advisors' qualifications. Women don't know much about business, you know."

Kristoff kept his mouth full so he didn't have to reply.

"Tell me, Bernard, is the queen happy with your work on the economy? I hear from friends and servants that there are shortages in the marketplace, and I've seen some coins come through our contacts that don't seem to be what they should. I'm just a woman, so I don't know much. Things would have to be very bad before I'd even notice a problem," Nadja said, reaching over to pat Bern on the arm.

Bern was swallowing convulsively, trying to moisten his dry throat without risking a sip of wine that could choke him. His mother didn't lie, which made her statements impossible to counter. He'd learned not to try. The most poisonous thing about his mother was that he believed her when he listened to her. He wished Kristoff wasn't here listening to this.

When their butler interrupted dinner to say that Lord Tyvard's death was imminent, Bern welcomed the interruption, even for such a macabre reason.

Bern and his mother kept vigil at his father's bedside for the next two hours, listening to death rattle in Tyvard's throat, expecting each breath to be the last. Pastor Anders stayed with them, murmuring scripture. When his father let go of his final breath, Bern held his own breath, waiting for another reprieve, finally expelling a gasp of regret that his father was gone. Nadja pulled the sheet up over his face.

"I'll keep vigil with him tonight, mother," Bern said.

"Do you want me to stay too? I'd hate for you to be alone," his mother replied.

"I'll be fine," Bern said.

"You would rather be alone than with me," his mother said sadly while Pastor Anders pretended not to hear.

Bern resolutely said nothing.

"You always have a home here. No matter what happens politically or economically, regardless of what anyone else says about you, you can always come home. Maybe someday you'll appreciate that." His mother kissed him on the cheek and left the room with the pastor.

Bern found the matches and lit every candle he could find, setting all of them on the table next to his father's bed, making an oasis of light in this room of death and darkness. He stared at the flames. The chaos of his thoughts had drained away in these last few hours of waiting for death, leaving a void behind. There was a terrible suspicion filling that void. He watched the candles, the way they flickered at even the slightest draft. Flames gave way to everything; they never stood strong, but shifted however far it took to accommodate the shifts in the air and keep burning.

The hours passed. The clock chimed. And Bern tried to believe that his mother hadn't really done what he was afraid she'd done.

~###~

The next morning, Kristoff was coming back into the house after checking on Sven when he saw Bern duck into the front parlor. He hurried the last few steps, and stuck his foot in the door before Bern could close it entirely.

"Hey. I'm sorry about your father," Kristoff said.

"This really isn't a good time, Kristoff," Bern said. He had dark circles under his eyes and he hadn't shaved yet this morning. The clothes he'd worn to dinner last night were rumpled from having sat up all night in them.

"Pretend I'm not here. I can be quiet, remember?"

Bern didn't make another effort to get rid of him, but went to a tall writing desk in the corner and folded up the top. He started pulling letters out of pigeonholes, keeping some on the desk while putting others back. Then he pulled out the drawer and set a stack of correspondence on his lap and began sorting it. One pile went on the desk, the other pile went on the floor.

Kristoff looked around the room, and went to examine the curios on the shelf. The small statues probably had some meaning he didn't understand. The portraits on the wall were oils of families in their best clothes, with the occasional portrait of a man or woman alone. Books smelled of dust. The entire room felt old, connected to previous generations in a way Kristoff could never match. History weighed on him, and he wasn't even part of this family. He stole a glance at Bern and didn't wonder that he was beginning to crack under the pressure.

The biggest book Kristoff had ever seen held court on its very own polished oak stand. It was easily a handspan thick, with an old leather cover. He looked back at Bern, and then opened the book at random. It was hand-lettered, not printed, and the handwriting was so stylized he couldn't read any of it. He risked a question. "What's this?"

"The family Bible. We don't actually use it for reading. It's where we write down births, marriages and deaths," Bern replied. The stack of papers on the desk was growing; only a few letters joined the pile on the floor.

Kristoff carefully turned it to the front. The first several pages were covered in spidery handwriting. "Yeesh! There's like a hundred generations listed in here!"

"The trolls don't have something like that for you?" Bern asked him.

"Are you in here?"

"At the end of the list, yes," Bern said. "Keep turning pages. You'll find it."

Kristoff turned the pages. Every name had at least two notations: a birth date and a death date. Many also had a wedding date recorded and a spouse added. The last list in the Bible ended part way down a page that was blank and waiting for more entries. Kristoff had known that Bern's siblings had died, but it was sobering to see their names all written. Bern's name was fourth in the list of six children, and the only one that didn't have a death notation written next to it. He looked at it closely, spelling out something. He read fairly well now.

"Hey, I thought you said your full name was Bernard," Kristoff said.

"You were going to forget you knew that, remember?" Bern said, opening a second drawer and pulling out another pile of papers.

"This says your name is Burn," Kristoff said.

"Really? Mother always called me Bernard. Father called me Bern. I assumed mother was using my full name. It was just one more way they could fight about me," Bern said, scanning letters.

"You never checked your own name?"

"It's too depressing to see that list, Kristoff. I don't care what the family Bible says about me as long as I don't have a death date like everyone else," Bern answered.

Kristoff shut the Bible and walked over to see what Bern was doing. Bern set another paper on the pile on the desk and Kristoff picked it up. It was a golden flower with seven large wavy petals interspersed around seven smaller petals, set on a purple background.

"That's pretty. Is it a sunflower? Elsa would like it," Kristoff said.

"It's a sunburst, not a sunflower. My cousin Rapunzel drew it; she's quite artistic. My mother had a sister who was obsessed with the magical properties of sun fire. She thought it could grant her eternal youth and she kept trying to get Mother interested," Bern said.

"Sun fire? Grand Pabbie talks about earth fire," Kristoff commented. "Can I keep the sketch?"

"That's my mother's private correspondence, Kristoff, so probably not," Bern said. He started putting the larger stack of letters on the desk back into the drawer.

Kristoff set the sketch back down for Bern to put away. "You're going through your mother's letters?"

"I'm looking for official correspondence related to the family shipping business. Two years ago when my father had his stroke and I joined the government, I signed a power of attorney giving Mother authority to manage our family business. Despite her comments at dinner last night, Mother is very intelligent about business and is capable of running things on her own. I haven't kept close track of what she's done because that would mean talking to her. I've ignored the family business, and now I'm beginning to wonder if that was a mistake. I'm looking for letters and shipping invoices to find out what she's been up to," Bern said. He folded up the smaller pile of letters on the floor and put them into his jacket pocket.

"Why don't you just ask her?" Kristoff asked.

"Are you coming to my father's burial this morning? I need to get ready," Bern said, shutting the desk. "I can find you a black cloak to wear or something."

"Yeah, sure, I'll come," Kristoff said.

Bern and Kristoff washed up and shaved. Bern wore a black jacket over a gray shirt with black trousers. Kristoff buttoned up a long, black cloak over his regular clothes and resigned himself to sweating as the sun climbed higher.

"Does your family do breakfast?" Kristoff asked, worried that he wouldn't get anything to eat just because Bern wasn't.

"In there," Bern said, pointing him towards the breakfast parlor. To Kristoff's surprise, Bern came with him. Kristoff filled a plate at the sideboard. Bern poured a cup of coffee.

"Is any of your family coming? Will that aunt or cousin you mentioned be here?" Kristoff said before he shoveled his mouth full of food, mainly to get Bern talking instead of brooding.

"My aunt's dead. Her daughter killed her," Bern said shortly. Then he didn't answer the rest of the question. Kristoff was too stunned to ask anything else.

Bern downed three cups of coffee before his mother came in, dressed in black, with a short net veil covering her face. She also got nothing besides a cup of coffee. Kristoff went back for seconds. He eventually got self-conscious that the only sounds in the room were the grandfather clock ticking, and him chewing. Bern and his mother sat side by side, sipping coffee and not saying a word, their mouths pulled down in identical expressions. His mother's black, spiraled hair contained a few silver strands that served to highlight the rest of the darkness.

The burial was brief, uneventful and unemotional. Pastor Anders read the liturgy, Apostle's Creed and the Lord's Prayer. Kristoff stood with his head bowed next to Bern. As the solemn scriptural words flowed over him, consigning the dead to rest, Kristoff's mind went back about fifteen years, and he wondered if anyone had read scripture when his parents, sister and brother were buried. He'd visited their gravestones later, but had been too close to death himself to attend their funerals.

When the service ended, he walked behind Bern and his mother back to the house. For all the warnings Bern had given him about his mother, Kristoff hadn't seen anything that would have justified Bern's opinion of her. In fact, she might have been responding to Bern's overblown fears. She'd said some thoughtless things at dinner last night that happened to be true, if unkindly interpreted, but that was all. He wondered if Bern had let a few bad memories color his relationship with his mother too much.

When they got back to the house, the servants who had attended the burial dispersed back to their tasks.

"Mother, I'd like to show Kristoff the rest of the house, if you have no objection," Bern said.

"Of course, son. You know the rules," Lady Nadja said absently. "I'm tired. I'm going to rest before Adele and Mirabelle arrive."

"Yes, Mother," Bern said.

The three of them went up the stairs together, going separate ways at the top. Kristoff unbuttoned the black cloak and slung it over the banister. Bern scooped it right back up and led Kristoff into a hallway, entering the fourth door down. He hung the cloak in a wardrobe.

"So what room is this?" Kristoff asked.

"What?"

"You said you were giving me a tour," Kristoff reminded him.

"Oh. Do you really want a tour? This is my room," Bern said. He left before Kristoff could look around, pulling the door shut behind him.

"What are all these other doors?" Kristoff pressed, hoping to get Bern talking instead of lost in his own thoughts.

"My siblings' rooms. Do you really want to see them? The rules are that you don't touch anything. You don't change anything. Ever." Bern pushed open a door and Kristoff looked in at a spotlessly clean room with pink wallpaper and a white lace canopy bed. "This is Angelique's room. See the puzzle on the table? She was working on that puzzle twenty-nine years ago when she caught a fever and died. Don't ever finish the puzzle."

Bern shut the door and opened the one across the hallway. "This is Jonathan's room. He liked blocks. He was quite good at building block towers. How would I know that since he caught a fever and died before I was born? Because of the block towers." Bern pointed. "See that one? It's nine blocks tall. It's been nine blocks tall for more than thirty years now. See the one next to it? It's only six blocks tall. Once I put a seventh block on it. That was the only time in my life that my mother beat me."

Bern shut the door and opened the next one. "This is Timothy's room. I was nine years old when he caught a fever and died; Timothy was five. You recognize the name Timothy, right? He's about your age, or he would be if he'd lived. He's the only sibling who lived long enough after I was born for me to know him as anything besides a headstone. We'd been painting pictures the day before he got sick. See? They're still fastened to the easel. Mine is the one on the right. I was painting a bear who was looking for a cave to hibernate in. It's night time in the painting, but I can't put the moon in it because that would change something. Timothy was painting a red mess. He never did tell me what it was supposed to be, and now I'll never know."

Bern shut the door and kept going. "Do you want to see the next one?"

"Stop it, Bern," Kristoff said, putting an arm out so he couldn't reach the next door.

"Oh no, I haven't shown you Teresa's room yet. She liked to sew. She'd gotten quite good at it by the time she turned twelve and died. The needle is still in the apron. She was attaching a flounce to it, in case you were wondering. And then there's Terence's room. He liked animals, bugs actually. He collected bugs. Did you know that when bug bodies get old enough, they just turn to dust and blow away? We can't have that, now can we? Mother found new bugs, the same kind, and pinned them to the board, so nothing will ever change in his room either. She has to find new dead bugs every so often. Do you want to see them? Decaying bugs can't stop mother's goal to keep things the same here. I'm the only one that changed, and she hates that. I grew up. I left. I did something I wasn't supposed to do and she can't turn my room into a shrine because I keep changing."

Kristoff shoved Bern up against the wall. "Stop it, Bern."

Bern was talking too fast and his eyes were too bright. "There's only one left, Kristoff. Why stop now? Do you want to see Andrew's room? He was only a baby when he died. Fortunately, all the diapers had been washed before he actually took his last breath, so there aren't any soiled diapers that have to be preserved unchanging forever. His room is quite sweet, actually, a baby's room typically is. There's blue wallpaper on the walls, and plush rabbits on the floor. The quilt that Aunt Gothel sewed for him is hanging over the crib. It's got that sunburst pattern you liked so much. Aunt Gothel made one just like it for her daughter, the one that grew up and killed her. Would you like to see it?"

"Let's get out of here before you go any crazier," Kristoff said.

"Oh, I'm not crazy, or not any crazier than anyone else who was raised in their siblings' mausoleum. Mother wasn't unreasonable, though. Their actual bodies are buried in the cemetery. There aren't any skeletons behind these doors, just ghosts, only we call them memories," Bern said. He started to laugh, high-pitched and hysterical.

Kristoff shook him, trying to snap him out of it. "We're getting out of here."

"You can leave, but I can't. She's going to trap me too, Kristoff. She said so last night. She said I'd always have a home here, no matter what. Isn't that a sweet, motherly sentiment? I'm such a terrible son that I immediately started to think the worst of her kind offer. I'm not actually giving you a tour of the house. I'm on my way to ransack my father's office in search of more correspondence. Do you want to come? Do you want to find out what she's done to the economy so I can't ever leave?" Bern asked. The laughing stopped, but he started to shudder instead.

"You're crazy," Kristoff said.

"Only when I'm here, Kristoff; I'm only crazy here. If I ever get back to the castle, I'll be my usual charming self," Bern said.

Bern pushed back at Kristoff and got away from him. "You know, I never could understand how Elsa could stand to live in that castle where she grew up. She gave orders to tear down the north wing of the castle. She said it was because of the damage her coronation storm had done. But you know what else? The north wing of the castle was where she had her childhood bedroom, you know, the one she'd been shut into for thirteen years. And that's where the dungeon was too, where she was locked up and put in chains. She can't stand to live there either, Kristoff, so she tore it down. I'm tearing this place down as soon as mother dies. Even before her body is cold, I'm having this place razed to the ground. Maybe I'll burn it."

"I'll help you tear it down. Where's your father's office?" Kristoff asked. If he wouldn't leave, then Kristoff was going to stay with him. At least he hadn't tried to send him away yet. Kristoff knew he had a hard time around people sometimes, but he wasn't crazy like Bern was right now.

"Down this other hall," Bern said. "It's all right to change things in there, or at least it was up until yesterday. Maybe now that he's dead, she'll preserve his office forever too. This is my last chance, Kristoff, so I have to hurry."

Kristoff kept hold of Bern's upper arm, preserving the illusion that he had some kind of control or connection over his friend as they got out of the hallway of closed doors and into another wing of the house. Bern pushed open a heavy oak door and they both went in. The room was refreshingly normal. The window was open; the summer breeze stirred the blue curtains slightly. There were two desks, one piled high with documents, the other held a writing pad with inkstand and pen. Shelves and drawers lined the walls.

A map of the North Sea and its bordering countries was framed and hanging next to the window. Kristoff went to look at it while Bern opened a drawer full of letters and invoices. Arendelle was tucked inside a fjord on Norway's coastline, in the cluster of other city-state kingdoms too small to be bothered by Europe's powerful countries. Denmark had settled them in its expansionist phase back in the 1500s, declared them independent kingdoms, and then left them to their own devices a few centuries later. Norway absorbed them culturally and didn't bother to challenge their sovereignty. Arendelle wasn't the only city-state too small to have its own military.

Easthaven was the furthest north, set on a spit of land that curved into the North Sea and then east again. Weselton bordered Easthaven to the south, followed by Stenneswatt, and then Arendelle. Hamar was tucked in behind Arendelle to the west. Along the coast, Breiwick sat on Arendelle's southern border, and then Lingarth was the last mainland kingdom. The Southern Isles were a scattering of specks in the North Sea. The city-state kingdoms were only a few days sail from each other when the wind was fair, and the waterways on the map were full of colored rhumb lines.

"The lines are the shipping lanes," Bern told him. "They're the trade routes our ships follow."

"You've sailed a lot of these routes, haven't you?"

"Most of them," Bern said, starting to read.

"Hey, do you mind if I write Anna a note? I promised her I'd write," Kristoff said. It seemed that Bern's strange mood had passed, at least for the time.

"Sure, it's all right there," Bern said, pointing at the writing desk. "We can send a servant to deliver it to the castle."

Kristoff sat down and laboriously spelled out a short note, biting his lip in concentration as he tried to remember when to use capital letters. Anna was his tutor, and she would be proud of him if he got the grammar right.

Behind him, he could hear Bern start gasping and gulping. Kristoff turned around. Bern was reading letters and having trouble breathing. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped sweat away from his temples and went back to the letters. As he finished reading, he stuffed them into a brown leather satchel with gold buckles.

"Are you okay?" Kristoff asked.

"Elsa is going to have me arrested," Bern said.

Kristoff didn't try to talk Bern out of being crazy anymore. He turned back and added a few sentences to his letter. Then he folded it and sealed it with wax. He printed 'Princess Anna' on the front of it.

There was a knock at the door. Bern jumped, stuffed an entire pile of letters under another stack of documents, and called, "Come in."

It was the man Kristoff recognized as their family's butler, but he couldn't remember his name. "Sir, your mother asked me to tell you that Lady Adele and Lady Mirabelle have arrived."

"Thank you, I'll be down in a minute. Would you find a messenger to deliver a note to the castle?" Bern replied, reaching for the note Kristoff had just finished and handing it to the butler.

"Very good, sir," the man said with a bow.

As he shut the door again, Bern yanked out the pile of correspondence and started stuffing all of it into the satchel. "Help me empty that other drawer, Kristoff. Hurry, before she realizes I know what she's done." Then he shuddered hard and dropped the satchel. "Why hurry? She wants me to know what she's done. That's why she left it all here for me to find." Bern put his head down on the desk.

Kristoff opened the drawer Bern had pointed to and got out a handful of paper. He was not asking any more questions. Every time Bern answered a question, the answer was unspeakably creepy. He straightened the pile of paper and added it to Bern's satchel. When he shut the drawer, there was a crack of glass from inside. Kristoff opened the drawer again and took out a medium-sized bottle of black glass and held it up, looking for a crack. A piece had chipped off, but the bottle hadn't broken.

"I haven't seen that bottle in fifteen years," Bern said.

Kristoff looked over, set the bottle on the table, and pushed Bern's head down. "Put your head on your knees before you pass out."

He worked the stopper out of the bottle and sniffed it. "Yeesh!"

"It's medicine. Mother made me drink a dose every week for two years to keep from getting sick. Father hated it. They had a huge fight about it, and he must have hidden the bottle because I didn't have to take medicine anymore."

"What's in it?" Kristoff asked.

"I have no idea." Bern was still pale, but his eyes were focusing better.

"Did it work?" Kristoff risked another question.

"If you're asking if I'm still alive, yes I am," Bern answered.

"No, I mean, did it keep you from getting sick?"

"Yes. I still don't get sick, actually. I've never run a fever. That was always the first symptom of the illnesses that killed my siblings. They got a fever. Mother used to check me for a fever twenty times a day," Bern replied.

"At least it worked," Kristoff said.

"Have you heard the phrase, 'the cure is worse than the disease'? The person who coined that phrase was referring to that medicine," Bern said. "Take it outside and dump it out. I bet it kills whatever plant you pour it on. Get rid of it."

"All right," Kristoff said. He tucked the bottle into his sash next to his belt knife to dispose of later.

"Should we greet Ladies Adele and Mirabelle?" Bern asked, standing up and doing up the buckles on the satchel. "Let me put this in my room first. And then, Kristoff, it's time for you to leave."

"I think I should stay," Kristoff said.

"You said you'd leave when I asked you to. I'm asking you to leave," Bern replied.

"Are you going to be all right?"

"Leave anyway," Bern said, his voice rising. "I mean it. Get out."

"Okay. I'll say 'hi' and get out," Kristoff said.

Bern got a ledger off the shelf, and took the satchel of letters and invoices back into that hallway of closed doors and left them in his childhood room. As they went down the front stairs, they could hear the voices of women in the parlor. Bern stumbled and Kristoff grabbed his arm to steady him.

"Is that Bern? I think I hear my son," Lady Nadja called, coming out to greet them.

It was when Kristoff saw the expression on Lady Nadja's face that he realized every word Bern had said about his mother was true. She looked at her haggard and staggering son, and her eyes glinted with triumph, like a cat that's finally toyed a mouse into exhaustion. Then she erased the expression into concern and rushed up the stairs towards them.

"Come sit down, son. It must have been such an ordeal to see your father buried," Lady Nadja commiserated.

"I'm fine. I don't need to sit down," Bern said.

"Mother knows best," Lady Nadja replied.

Kristoff pulled Bern towards him, out of his mother's reach and got him into the parlor, where it would be bad manners if he sat down because the other ladies were still standing.

"Kristoff! It's so good to see you again, even under such terrible circumstances," said Lady Adele, Gustav's wife. "Good heavens, what's happened to Bern? Sit down, young man."

Lady Mirabelle, Rodmund's wife, hastily moved embroidered pillows off the couch and they fussed over him until he sat down.

"I'll be fine," Bern said.

"You know, he probably needs some fresh air," Kristoff said. He could get away with breaking social rules since he had a great excuse for not knowing what they were. "How about he walks me out? I'm really sorry I can't stay longer, but I had some other business I needed to get done. It was so nice to see you both again. Lady Nadja, thank you for your hospitality."

"I'll have a servant bring you your things," Lady Nadja said.

"Great. I'll be in the stables." Kristoff hauled Bern off the couch again and left with him, the ladies murmuring concern behind them.

In the stables, Sven snorted happily at Kristoff and Kristoff rubbed his head and apologized for not bringing him a carrot. "Are you ready to go?"

Sven bleated out an affirmation.

"Bern, want to run away from home?"

"What?"

"Leave with me. What are they going to do, chase you down?"

"I can't leave," Bern said, leaning heavily against the wall and looking at the floor.

"Why not?"

"She's ruined me, my career, the economy, everything."

"Then I'm staying with you," Kristoff announced.

"No you're not!" Bern flared at him. "You said you'd leave when I told you to go, and I want you out of here."

Kristoff dug up a memory from last summer of Anna insisting she wasn't leaving without Elsa. He had the feeling that if Bern had been able to do it, there would be a snow monster erupting out of the floor right now. It hadn't done Anna any good to insist on staying.

Kristoff dug a finger into his chest. "If you stay, you're going to end up as a ghost too. You know that, don't you?"

The servant arrived with Kristoff's things and packed them into the bag slung over Sven's back.

"Just go," Bern said. "I have to get back."

Kristoff watched Bern go back into the house before he walked Sven towards the lane. About halfway down the poplar-lined lane, he turned and headed into the trees. In about ten minutes, they were out of sight of the house, the lane, and the road. Kristoff stopped next to a stream, in a small clearing among the trees. He worked the medicine bottle out of his sash and tucked it into the saddlebag. He wanted to ask someone about that kind of medicine before he got rid of it.

Sven snorted a question.

Kristoff shrugged. "I told Bern I'd leave; I didn't tell him how far I'd go. Let's set up camp."


	8. Chapter 8 - Sails on the Sea

**Many thanks to Concolor44 whose explanation of military terms is much easier to understand than Wikipedia's, mostly because he can answer questions that are phrased like, "This is what I want. How do I say it so I sound like I know what I'm talking about?" You're the best!**

****Just a note for my new readers, the **references to the Battle of Arendelle in this chapter are drawn from "The Unlikely Heroes of Arendelle."  
**

* * *

**Chapter 8 – Sails on the Sea**

Lord Councilor Gustav was aboard the _Ranger_, a day's sail from Arendelle, when the lookout spotted a frigate. Captain Rys hailed it, and as the two ships approached, Gustav saw for himself that the frigate was flying the flag of Easthaven.

Captain Rys sailed the _Ranger_ within hailing distance, and the two ship captains managed a conversation through signal flags, gestures, and shouting.

"You're invited aboard," Captain Rys told Gustav.

"I accept the invitation," Gustav replied.

Captain Rys gave orders and the _Ranger's_ launch splashed down into the North Sea. The second mate and two sailors preceded Gustav down the rope ladder, and then they him rowed across to the _Easthaven Explorer_. The second mate saluted Gustav and wished him good sailing. Gustav thanked him, slung his bag over his back, and climbed the rope ladder, accepting a hand at the top that helped him onto the deck.

His heart sank when he saw whose assistance he had accepted. "Prince Dominic, such an unexpected surprise."

"Lord Councilor Gustav, I must say I'm not entirely surprised to see you. We crossed paths with a clipper ship earlier this morning that bore the most startling news, which I hope you can confirm for us. But that's not the real reason I was on my way to Arendelle. I trust you got my letter?" Prince Dominic boomed out cheerfully. Prince Dominic was a handsome man of about thirty years, slightly above middle height and well-proportioned, muscular with the rigors of a military life. His sword was belted over a red uniform coat that sported epaulettes and ribbons in impressive numbers. His light brown hair was combed down neatly, and his sideburns were cut straight, right below his ears. He had a straight nose, dark brown eyes, and the bearing of a man who was accustomed to having his orders obeyed.

Gustav straightened his Council uniform coat and brushed dust from his trousers. He was a tall, thin man with black hair and few gray strands in his goatee, used to parlors and council rooms. The deck of a ship was not his usual setting, and he was slightly off-balanced by more than the ocean's swell as he gathered his wits for a meeting he hadn't expected to happen for several more days. "Yes, your letter came yesterday morning. I had not yet had time to acquaint Queen Elsa with its contents when our day was entirely pre-empted by a military attack."

"Come, we must hear what happened. The news from the clipper ship was almost unbelievable, but we've heard of your queen! Meet my companions, and tell us the story," Prince Dominic said. "This is Admiral Wordonn, commander of our Northern Fleet."

Gustav bowed, wondering why an admiral was on a lone frigate accompanying a man who intended to go courting. Admiral Wordonn looked to be a few years older himself, with brown and silver hair and a complexion ruddy enough to confirm that Wordonn had spent his life at sea. He was of middle height, shorter than Prince Dominic, about level with Gustav's chin.

"This is Sir Lester, a knight of the realm, whose assistance has been invaluable to me these past few years since I discovered his talent for foreign affairs," Prince Dominic said, presenting a tall man in his mid-twenties with dark brown hair and intense brown eyes over a high-bridged nose. Gustav bowed to him as well, not sure why he took an instant dislike to the man.

"This is Major Felix, Commander of the Sixteenth Battalion," Prince Dominic said. Gustav wondered where his battalion was. He wasn't very old to have attained the rank of major, which meant either prodigious skill, or a wealthy family.

"And this is Captain Hugo, of the _Easthaven Explorer_," Prince Dominic finished.

"Permission to come aboard?" Gustav asked formally. The captain was in his thirties, with a long scar running down his neck.

"Permission granted," Captain Hugo replied. "I'll have you shown to your quarters, and you're invited to my table to dine tonight."

"Thank you. Captain, your Highness, Major Felix, and Sir Lester, I beg the liberty of a few minutes to settle in, and then I'll answer your questions," Gustav said.

"Your Lordship, one brief question first, will a course for Arendelle take us past the ships from Weselton, or should we alter our course?" Captain Hugo asked.

"We'll pass them on our way back to Arendelle. The ships were visible from our harbor when the confrontation took place," Gustav confirmed.

"Jonas will show you to your quarters," Captain Hugo said, and a young cabin boy bowed and waited for Gustav to follow him below decks.

Gustav stowed his belongings in the small cabin, stalled a bit longer to gather his thoughts, and then rejoined the passengers on deck where they seated themselves on boxes and coiled hawsers.

"Your Highness, before I tell the full story, may I ask about Easthaven's assistance under the treaty? As Arendelle has been attacked, we do require military assistance, and despite the indisputable skill and courage of Captain Hugo, perhaps one frigate will not answer all that is needed," Gustav said.

"Once that clipper ship convinced us they were telling the truth, we sent word by them to Easthaven, Councilor. I requested three ships of the line, with enough sailors for prize crews. We'll answer our treaty obligations, with force to spare. Naturally, I'll be your advisor through this matter. Admiral Wordonn will sail to the iceberg when our ships arrive to oversee the surrender," Prince Dominic replied. "The _Easthaven Explorer_ is a fine ship, but she's got a hold full of soldiers, not sailors."

"Soldiers?" Gustav prodded.

"I remembered King Agdar's interest in our military, and his repeated invitations to use Arendelle's terrain as a training ground for mountainous campaigns. After your report of the Battle of Arendelle last fall, I've been more than curious to meet this Guardsman Kristoff of yours, and to work with him on devising tactics for increasing our soldiers' effectiveness in harsh terrain. I hope I didn't presume too much on an old invitation," Prince Dominic said.

"Not at all," Gustav said with a tight smile. That answered the question about the location of Major Felix's Battalion.

"Enough of that," Admiral Wordonn said. "Is there really an iceberg in your fjord in June? What exactly did your queen do?"

Prince Dominic and Sir Lester leaned in, their eyes avid with interest as Gustav summarized as briefly as he could what he'd seen.

"She only froze the ships? The ice didn't spread?" Prince Dominic clarified.

"No, the ice was limited to exactly what she intended to do. Queen Elsa has made great strides this past year in learning to control these strange abilities," Gustav assured them.

"How did she disable the ships?" Admiral Wordonn pressed.

"She broke the masts, all the masts on all the ships. I was too far away to see exactly how she did it, but as we sailed past the ships, we could see the splintered stumps of the masts, and sailcloth still covering the decks," Gustav said. "The rudders were frozen into the iceberg. They're quite unnavigable. The masts will need to be repaired, and the ice will have to thaw before you can sail the ships away."

"Can she thaw the ice?" Prince Dominic asked.

"The ice will melt in the ordinary course of time. She has to be within a certain distance to use her powers, which would mean sailing back out to the ships," Gustav said.

"But she could thaw the ice if she wanted to?" Prince Dominic asked.

"Yes, she is able to thaw ice as well as create it," Gustav confirmed.

"I see. Fascinating, simply fascinating. How exactly is she able to control her powers? We all know she lost control at her coronation. You keep insisting she's got control now, but you never say how, Gustav. Don't think I haven't noticed that omission," Prince Dominic said jovially, with a slap on the back.

"I am not privy to Queen Elsa's personal struggles, and even if I were, I would not share them without her express permission. The magic is connected to her emotions. Beyond that, I cannot guess at specifics," Gustav said.

The waves slapped at the hull of the boat, and the booms and yards creaked overhead as the wind sped them towards Arendelle much faster than Gustav would have liked. He'd hoped for the entire journey to Easthaven and back to give Rodmund plenty of time to prepare Queen Elsa and Bern for Prince Dominic's arrival. He hoped the meeting had gone well. Blast it all, he hoped they'd gotten engaged, and Prince Dominic could take a snowball home as a souvenir and leave Arendelle and take his ship full of soldiers with him.

"You said she blew the ship out of the harbor?" Admiral Wordonn asked. "Is she able to make the wind blow hard enough to sail a ship in dead calm air?"

"From what I observed, she was able to move a fishing schooner out of a harbor. They picked up a breeze within a short distance. Queen Elsa did not propel the schooner very far," Gustav said.

The conversation continued with Prince Dominic and Admiral Wordonn trying to wring details out of Gustav, and Gustav saying as little as possible in reply. He wasn't deliberately trying to conceal matters, but he didn't think their curiosity was very polite. While he could understand their interest in Queen Elsa's one military foray, they were prying into the abilities of a young woman who was still very self-conscious about those abilities. Gustav said less and less until the conversation tapered off.

"Well! Enough of that!" Prince Dominic finally said. "We've still got the entire Battle of Arendelle to discuss! That report you sent said more in its gaps than it did in its information. What exactly was the 'weather-related obstacle' that had such an effect on the Hamarian forces?"

With a point-blank question like that harpooning him, Gustav had a difficult time concealing what had actually happened. And after all, everyone in Arendelle knew what had happened. It wasn't exactly a secret, just not something they talked about. Gustav answered the question.

"She created monsters of snow? And they're completely loyal to her?" Prince Dominic asked in wonder.

"They are not something she can create at will," Gustav protested.

"But she did," Sir Lester interrupted to insist.

"I don't believe she could do it again," Gustav said.

"Why not?" Prince Dominic asked.

Gustav shook his head and wished he'd been struck mute hours ago. "These are matters that I can't fully answer. I simply don't know the answers."

"Well, we can be patient until we can ask Queen Elsa herself, right, gentleman?" Prince Dominic boomed with a laugh, slapping his knee.

"You will please be considerate of Queen Elsa's right to decline conversation about difficult matters," Gustav said. "She has a reserved temperament, and these are not matters she discusses with many people, especially not those of recent acquaintance." Let them think he'd overstepped his rank if they wanted, but he couldn't stomach the thought of these men subjecting Queen Elsa to the interrogation he was enduring.

"We'll have to see if I can win her confidence sooner than you think," Prince Dominic told him with a broad wink.

Gustav abruptly stood. "If you'll excuse me, I find I'm not feeling well. I'll rest before dinner." He bowed.

"Not much of a sailor are you?" Admiral Wordonn said. "We'll see you at Captain Hugo's table, then."

Gustav walked away and maneuvered down the ladder and back to his cabin. He sat on the narrow bunk and pulled out his bag, sifting through it. He'd packed in such a hurry he hadn't even brought his official diary in which he recorded all his contacts in the course of his duties as Councilor over Foreign Affairs. The diary helped him collect his thoughts, as well as keep track of who he had met and what he had said. He couldn't remember who had attended Queen Elsa's coronation from Easthaven. He was sure it hadn't been Prince Dominic, or his older brother, King Frederick. Whoever it was would have given Prince Dominic a full description of the coronation storm. He wished he could remember who it had been. If Prince Dominic had always intended to fulfill that betrothal agreement, then why hadn't he been the one to come to Queen Elsa's coronation?

The time passed much too quickly, and then the cabin boy knocked and announced it was time for dinner. Gustav gathered his thoughts, excuses and methods to deflect questions and followed the boy to Captain Hugo's cabin, where the others had already gathered. The captain set a fine table, and Gustav willingly attended to the food and let the conversation flow without his participation. They spoke of the Easthaven court, and Gustav picked out nuggets of information without volunteering any of his own.

But then Captain Hugo turned the conversation to Arendelle, and inquired after the health of the princess, as they had already heard so much of the queen.

"Her Highness, Princess Anna, was in very good spirits and health when I left the harbor yesterday," Gustav replied.

"She's engaged to this Guardsman Kristoff who won your war for you, isn't that right?" Prince Dominic said.

"Yes, they're to be married at the end of the summer," Gustav replied.

"We'll look for the invitation, if I'm not still there myself!" Prince Dominic said.

Gustav smiled politely.

"It may be interesting to have a commoner for a brother-in-law," Prince Dominic said. "It's not customary for the younger sister to marry before the older sister. You must have been relieved to get my letter, Councilor."

"To be honest, your Highness, there are many customs in Arendelle that might seem strange to someone from a country as cosmopolitan as Easthaven. I assure you that the royal sisters are devoted to each other, and there is no jealousy or concern about Princess Anna's wedding," Gustav said.

"Well, I certainly can't say the same about me and my older brother, King Frederick!" Prince Dominic said, and waved for the serving man to top off his wine glass. "But if things go as planned, it may be a double wedding. I've never had any trouble wooing the ladies. I don't imagine this queen of yours will be any different than the rest of them."

"Queen Elsa is of a delicate temperament, your Highness," Gustav began.

"Yes, you mentioned that. No matter, I'm confident in my own abilities," Prince Dominic said. "I've yet to meet the lady whose heart I haven't been able to conquer. It's unfortunate I wasn't free to wed any of them because of this betrothal. I'm afraid I've left a trail of broken hearts all along my way to Arendelle. Such a pity." He laughed along with Sir Lester.

Gustav set down his knife and fork. "Your Highness, I beg your pardon, but I will be frank. In the years since King Agdar contacted you about possibly entering into a betrothal with his daughter, much has changed. Her affections seem to already be engaged elsewhere, though I am not aware of any official arrangement between them yet. Arendelle may seem strange to Easthaven, but we do respect our royalty, and I would hope that, should Queen Elsa not welcome your attentions, you would show your good breeding and wish her joy before departing."

"Her affections are engaged elsewhere, are they? Who might the lucky man be?" Prince Dominic asked, taking another bite, completely unconcerned.

"Lord Councilor Bern. He serves as her advisor for Economic Affairs. They've been acquainted some years now and are well-matched in both temperament and interests," Gustav said.

Prince Dominic gave him a long look and then began to chuckle. "An economist? Your queen is making eyes at an economist? You must have been so relieved to get my letter, Gustav!" And he roared with laughter. Captain Hugo, Sir Lester and Major Felix joined in. Even Admiral Wordonn cracked a smile.

"Given your success with the ladies, I trust any disappointment from Queen Elsa's choice will be superficial and short-lived," Gustav said.

"As her Councilor over Foreign Affairs, Gustav, it's your duty to make sure she makes the right choice, rather than offending Arendelle's most important ally," Prince Dominic said pointedly. "I trust you'll encourage her to do her duty willingly. I've noticed ladies are so much more pleasant when they think a relationship is their own idea. I certainly wouldn't want to put any unwelcome pressure on her Majesty."

"I appreciate your sensitivity, your Highness," Gustav said cautiously, "but I am only an advisor. I do not presume to guide her choice of a husband."

Prince Dominic leaned back and gave him a nasty grin. "Then you're in luck. You don't have anything to say about her choice of a husband. I'm just asking you to make it easier for her to do what she has to do. King Agdar signed the betrothal agreement. He sent it to me before he left on the sea voyage that killed him. We were all surprised to get your letters stating that he'd refused to sign anything, because we've got his signature. The document is in my cabin. Queen Elsa is legally obligated to marry me, and I think you know that."

Gustav kept his expression blank and searched for words that weren't an outright lie. "I was not aware that King Agdar had sent Easthaven a signed betrothal agreement."

Prince Dominic laced his fingers behind his head. "Maybe he didn't trust you, Councilor. Tell me, were there any other secrets about his daughter that he kept from you?"

Gustav remained silent.

"Once I'm Prince Consort of Arendelle, Councilor, we'll be working together closely, for as long as I think you're suited to a position in government, anyway. Let's start off with a good working relationship, shall we? Perhaps you could suggest to this economist that he find another line of work, one requiring him to permanently leave Arendelle, for example. Would you like to help further his career in that way? He must be a friend of yours," Prince Dominic said pleasantly.

"Yes, he's a friend," Gustav said.

"Then I'll trust you to help make this transition easier for all concerned. I'd hate to have to start throwing my weight around and waving King Agdar's signature in everyone's faces. Let's all do the right thing without a lot of conflict. I've found that's the best way to settle an issue before it escalates. Solving conflicts is my line of work, actually," Prince Dominic said. He motioned for more wine. "A toast! Shall we have a toast!"

The others raised their wine glasses.

"To the upcoming union between Easthaven and Arendelle!" Prince Dominic waited until Gustav offered up his wine glass, and they all drank to it.

~###~

Ever since yesterday, when Rodmund had told her about Prince Dominic, Elsa had been doing her best to consider the matter dispassionately. She had never been able to set aside her father's express wishes. Even four years after his death, Elsa found that the fact that her father wanted her to marry Prince Dominic was already swaying her decision. It would be good for Arendelle to have a closer connection to Easthaven's military protection. She owed it to the people who had already been threatened twice because of her. The flirtation with Bern had been short; she'd been raised knowing that her marriage must be about political realities. And with a lifetime of training in concealing her feelings, she would be able to tolerate any sort of marriage and maintain appearances. She'd sacrificed her childhood for Anna's protection; she could sacrifice her adulthood for Arendelle's protection.

Anna was not helping her be reasonable. "If Gustav didn't like Prince Dominic, then he's probably not very nice. We don't need an army here anyway. We've got Kristoff! Do you want him to set off another avalanche or something?"

"I'll form my own opinions of Prince Dominic, Anna, and Kristoff can't defend us from an attack by sea," Elsa said. It was quite possible that Prince Dominic would be charming and wonderful and she would be delighted with the marriage.

"But you defended us from the attack by sea!"

"I'm not sure I can do that consistently," Elsa replied. "If you would please excuse me, I do have a few things to get done."

They were in the small parlor that Elsa used as a private office, down the hall from her room. Elsa had been composing a few remarks about Lord Tyvard for the memorial service they were planning when Bern returned, when Anna had interrupted to update her about the arrangements for Easthaven's welcome. Then the whole thing had degenerated into another discussion about Prince Dominic.

"You should delegate more and then you wouldn't be too busy to talk to me. How about you assign something to Rodmund?"

Elsa gave Anna a look, and tried to write.

"You can't be angry at them, Elsa. Rodmund and Gustav were just trying to do what was best," Anna went on.

"Burning the king's signature is actually quite serious, Anna," Elsa said. "The word 'treason' comes to mind, as does the phrase 'subverting royal authority.' I'm not going to put them in the dungeon, but there do need to be consequences."

The trouble was, she couldn't think of any consequences besides dismissing them in disgrace, and she couldn't stomach that thought. How could she get along without them?

"At least they confessed!" Anna said.

"They confessed because they got caught," Elsa said.

"They were trying to help you, Elsa! They just didn't know how to do it right because you kept hiding from everyone back then."

"My needs shouldn't have been their top priority in any case. Their top priority should have been carrying out Arendelle's obligations. I'm the queen. My wishes must align with Arendelle's best interests."

Anna rolled her eyes and collapsed theatrically onto the couch with an enormous sigh.

"You study history, Anna. Tell me how often you've run across a queen who gets to marry for love, without political considerations," Elsa said. "Tell me how often royal advisors put their judgment above the king's judgment and are commended for it."

Anna squealed, got up and bounced. "Let's do history like a fairy tale! I'll just change the ending! Once upon a time in Arendelle, a queen got to marry her economics councilor because they loved each other. And when two senior councilors made a teeny error in judgment, they got pardoned. Everybody lived happily ever after!"

"Who's living happily ever after?" Olaf asked as he came through the open door.

"Elsa, Bern, Rodmund and Gustav," Anna replied.

Elsa couldn't help but smile before she tried to be responsible again. "Let's talk about Kristoff instead. Shall we give him a title for a wedding present? Do you think he would prefer to be addressed as 'Sir Kristoff' or 'Lord Kristoff?' We could knight him, or would you rather he be an earl?"

That sent Anna off in a gale of giggles. "Lord Kristoff, Duke of Trolls. Or Sir Kristoff, Baron of the Ice Pick."

Olaf went hopping around Anna. "Lord Kristoff, Earl of the Eastern Mountain."

Anna stopped giggling. "That actually has a nice ring to it."

"Wonderful. We'll tell Kristoff that Olaf picked out his title," Elsa said.

"Yep! I'm a title expert!" Olaf said.

"Sir Olaf, Knight of Expertise," Anna said.

"Is that really a place? Can I be that, Elsa? Can I?" Olaf pleaded.

"I'm not sure my authority extends to knighting a snowman, Olaf," Elsa said.

"I'm as sentient as Kristoff!" Olaf protested.

"He's got a point, you must admit," Anna said.

There was a knock at the open door. Chief Steward Kai was standing there, offering Anna a note on a tray. "This came for you, your Highness."

Anna snatched it and squealed, "It's from Kristoff! Look how cute his handwriting is!"

Kai bowed and left with a chuckle.

Anna broke the wax seal, and her expression went from excited to puzzled as she read it.

"Is everything all right?" Elsa asked. She wished there had been a note on the tray for her from Bern. She'd asked him to write.

"It doesn't sound like it, but maybe the spelling will make you smile," Anna said, and gave Elsa the note.

Elsa and Olaf read it together.

_Dear Anna,_

_I am doing fine and I miss you. Burn is not doing fine. Sumthing is rong. He's going crazy I think. This house is strange and he shud leave. Tell Elsa to not let him cum back. I love you._

_Love,  
Kristoff  
_

_p.s. Burn just said Elsa is going to arrest him. I told you he is crazy here. I'll stay with him._

"That is strange," Elsa said. "We all know his relationship with his mother is strained. It appears his father's death has strained things further. I do wish he would come home."

"Why? What does he have here?" Anna asked, serious at last.

"Well, he won't be at that house anymore. Kristoff seems to think he should leave," Elsa said.

"He'll come home and get his heart broken," Anna said.

Elsa didn't reply. She'd been trying not to think of how Bern might react to news of this betrothal. He'd always been there for her, no matter what, and on some level she'd been thinking he would help her through this too and somehow not get hurt in the process. Instead, she gave Anna a warning glance and raised her eyebrows in Olaf's direction.

"Why are you arresting Bern? And how come his heart will get broken?" Olaf asked.

"I'm not arresting him, and his heart is just fine," Elsa said. As much as she had liked kissing him, she wished those kisses could be undone and they could return to being nothing but friends. Then she could marry Prince Dominic and her friendship with Bern could remain unchanged.

"Mm-hmm," Anna said.

"You two aren't helping," Elsa said. "I can't do anything about it now, so let's leave it alone for a few days. Bern might be back by the end of the week, and the delegation from Easthaven won't arrive for another week. Can we please get something else done in the meantime?"

"Oh, all right," Anna said. "Let's go back to making plans. I'm planning to put the people from Easthaven in the lower east corridor if our military advisor is someone besides Prince Dominic. If Prince Dominic comes, then I'm planning to make them all camp at the harbor and have Kristoff find out a way to set off a tidal wave. Can I get your queenly approval for my arrangements?"

"Anna!"

"She's so fussy," Anna whispered loudly to Olaf.

"I love tidal waves! Can I help Kristoff with the tidal wave?" Olaf asked.

"Sure, Olaf!" Anna said. "Have a good evening, Elsa. Don't stay up too late." And she walked out the door with Olaf, who wanted to know more about tidal waves.


	9. Chapter 9 - A Battle of Words

**In _Frozen Fever_, Prince Hans is alive. I wrote "The Unlikely Heroes of Arendelle" before that, in which I wrote that Hans had died on the voyage home. So it isn't canon anymore, but in this series, Hans is dead.**

* * *

**Chapter 9 – A Battle of Words**

Gustav stood at the rail of the _Easthaven Explorer_, wishing the wind would die down and the ship would be stranded in the calm for weeks. Instead, the frozen ships from Weselton came into view over the horizon. As Captain Hugo sailed them closer, the rails were thronged with sailors, straining for a glimpse of the ships. Prince Dominic and his company pushed their way past the sailors, who took to the rigging for a better view. Gustav ignored their excited comments as they sailed closer.

Not much had changed in the three days since Queen Elsa froze the ships. Gustav had not seen them closely on his way out of the fjord, but on this close approach, he noticed that there wasn't a solid barrier between the four ships. It was more of a lattice of ice, with rounded tops. He peered at them, wondering what on earth Queen Elsa had done to the ships.

Captain Hugo joined them at the rails, bringing a glass with him. He looked through it, then handed the glass to Prince Dominic, who aimed it at the ships.

"By Jove!" he exclaimed, "what are those things?"

Sir Lester looked through the telescope next, then offered it to Gustav. Gustav recognized the barrier immediately, even though the shapes had softened as the ice began to melt, and decided not to say anything. Instead, he merely nodded and passed the glass back to Admiral Wordonn. They watched and waited as they got closer. They could see activity on the decks of the frozen ships, signal flags waved.

The laughter started in the rigging first as the sharp-eyed lookouts finally decided that they were seeing what they thought they were seeing, and then word spread.

Prince Dominic bellowed a laugh. "Sunflowers! She trapped them in a flower patch! Your queen fights like a girl, Gustav!"

"She couldn't have chosen a better way to humiliate them," Sir Lester said with approval. "You had us worried, Gustav, with all your talk of her delicate temperament. She's got a mean streak, though. No one will risk messing with her if she can immobilize a navy and then slap them in the face with a sunflower!"

Admiral Wordonn squinted at the ships. "Every single mast is broken. Only two ships are even attempting repairs. Were there orders to take prisoners, or have you left them alone, Gustav?"

"I wasn't there to hear the decision, Admiral," Gustav said politely.

Sailors were down on the iceberg. There was some activity around the hulls and rudders, but they weren't close enough to see what they were doing.

Captain Hugo blew a blast on the foghorn. There was a delay, and then a response from the Weselton ships.

"They'll wait for us patiently until our ships of the line arrive. I've never seen anyone literally put an enemy on ice before," Admiral Wordonn said. "But there's no concern about hurrying. They're not going anywhere. That will give us time to attend to first things first, and meet the queen. What a fantastic ability she has! Is Arendelle getting any ideas about military conquest? You wouldn't need an entire navy with her leading the invasion!"

"I assure you that Queen Elsa has no such ambitions," Gustav said.

"Pity! Maybe she could develop some ambitions, don't you think? We could use her help in this battle between the Southern Isles and Lingarth. It's about time the rest of us put that interminable war away for good. Easthaven is aiding the Southern Isles on this campaign," Admiral Wordonn said.

Gustav put an end to that idea. "Arendelle is historically and firmly aligned with Lingarth, your Highness. I assure you that Queen Elsa would disapprove of any suggestion that she aid you against our allies."

"Hmm, another pity. What would it take to change her mind?" Admiral Wordonn said, elbowing Gustav in the ribs.

Gustav moved away from him. "I cannot imagine."

"Leave it alone, Admiral," Prince Dominic said. "The Southern Isles may be coming after Arendelle next, whether she helps them or not."

"What do you mean by that?" Gustav asked.

"You people poisoned Prince Hans. He has twelve brothers, and that's a big enough group that at least some of them were going to get angry about it," Prince Dominic said. "I don't think you would have made them as angry if you'd simply executed the man outright, as you had every right to do. But sending him off with a dose of poison that killed him within sight of his homeland struck a few of them as unsporting."

"I assure you that we did not poison Prince Hans."

"Then what happened? A perfectly healthy man in his prime turned up dead. Of course people are going to ask questions and assume the worst. Not many people in the Southern Isles cared much, one way or the other. But when those brothers get tired of fighting each other, they look for a common enemy. Revenge on Queen Elsa for fighting dirty has caught the interest of at least four of them, at last count. Lester, you've been to the Southern Isles most recently. Are there more than four who intend to attack Arendelle?" Prince Dominic asked.

Sir Lester shrugged and looked down his high-bridged nose with an expression of distaste. "It's so difficult to keep track of that many temperamental people. What difference does it make one way or the other? I doubt they'll try and attack before the war with Lingarth is settled."

"Queen Elsa did not poison Prince Hans," Gustav insisted. "And if you already know of the Southern Isles' warlike intentions, then I trust you will take the necessary steps to defend Arendelle, as required by the treaty."

"May we ask Queen Elsa to assist us?" Admiral Wordonn asked.

"Most certainly not."

"No matter," Prince Dominic interrupted them. "I'm going courting, not planning a military foray, Admiral."

"You may need to change tactics, your Highness. Her Majesty may not be what you thought," Admiral Wordonn said.

"I already knew that, Admiral," Prince Dominic replied, his eyes still fastened on the frozen warships from Weselton.

~###~

Bern rubbed his eyes, which ached from spending two days trying to decipher his mother's sharp handwriting in the ledger. The letters addressed to his mother were easier to read. The Duke of Weselton's handwriting looped more, and the lists of goods and payment matched up neatly. Most of the entries in the ledger matched up with letters written by the Duke of Weselton to his mother. The more he read, the worse it got.

He dipped the pen in the ink and added his signature to yet another letter addressed to the merchants and contacts who formed the network of their business arrangements. Soon, he needed to go to the village and hire messengers, since he didn't trust their servants to deliver these letters. They might have more loyalty to his mother than to him, and he was revoking her power of attorney and informing everyone in their list of contacts that his mother had no further right to enter into any transactions, and no obligations contracted by her would be honored in the future. He couldn't undo the damage already recorded in the ledger, but he could stop her from doing more.

Lady Nadja opened the door to the guest room without knocking. "Bernard, are you joining us for dinner? We haven't seen you since yesterday. Adele and Mirabelle are wondering if they've somehow offended you."

"Where was this ledger six months ago, Mother?" Bern asked. "When I came home at Christmas, I saw a different ledger. Where was this one?"

"You mean when you came home after Christmas, son. You didn't bother spending the holiday with your parents. It would have meant so much to your father, you know. Even if you don't like me, I couldn't understand why you abandoned your father too," his mother replied with a sad sigh.

"Would you have given me the truth as a Christmas present, Mother? If I'd come home a day earlier, would this have been the ledger I would have seen? Are you going to claim you were unaware of Arendelle's embargo against Weselton?" Bern felt that internal clench that warned him to silence, reminding him of the futility of trying to defend himself. But anger had been growing for two days. This wasn't just about him anymore. He could tolerate what she did to him, but he couldn't let her hurt anyone else. That clench in his stomach started to unfold.

"You didn't leave any specific instructions, son. Losing that much business all at once would have caused us some problems," Nadja said reasonably. She twined a long strand of black hair around her finger and affected unconcern.

"We could absorb the loss, and we did, at least according to the other ledger I saw six months ago. Where was this particular ledger six months ago? How long have you been hiding what you were really doing?" Bern asked. He had specifically told Elsa that he'd ceased all business with Weselton and taken a loss in the process. His mother had made a liar out of him. Yet his voice was still calm because grown men shouldn't yell at their mothers.

"The dates are right there, son. I'm sure you're bright enough to put it together yourself now that it's blindingly obvious. It took you long enough to notice what was going on. I really don't think you're smart enough for a position in government," Nadja said. Her eyes were glittering, and a sly smile crept across her face.

"It's treason, what you've done. You've increased the transactions with Weselton over this past year in deliberate defiance of the embargo. These letters from the Duke about payments and coinage show that you knew exactly what was happening, and that it was smuggling. How could you do this? This threatens our entire economy, Mother, how could you do this to all those innocent people?" Bern demanded.

"I only did what I had to do, Bernard. I asked you nicely to come home, and you decided to stay and play at politics. If you'd come home when you were supposed to, none of this needed to happen. Of course I'm sorry about all those other people who will lose their businesses or their fortunes, but it was all your fault. Every transaction was concluded under the authority of your signature on the power of attorney. Women can't engage in business for themselves," Nadja said with that smile still glittering on her face.

Bern wrestled with the temptation to throw the ledger at her and yell words he'd stifled for years.

"You can't leave me alone, Bernard," Nadja switched to pleading with him. "Your father is dead now. You're all I have left and I've given up everything for you, son. You have no idea what I had to sacrifice for you. You should make a sacrifice for me too. I wouldn't have done any of it if you'd just come home when I asked nicely. But you forced me to do this. Now you can come home, where you belong."

"This isn't a home; it's a prison!" Bern shouted at her.

Nadja shrank back. "It frightens me when you raise your voice at me, son. I just wanted you to come home. Is it so bad that I need my son?"

Bern turned his back on her and started shoving letters and ledgers inside the satchel. He had to leave. He could finish this from the castle, from the dungeon if Elsa wanted to arrest him, but he couldn't last another minute in this place. The thought he couldn't stand to think was that this ended his hopes for a life with Elsa. The queen couldn't possibly marry the man who was responsible for an economic disaster of this magnitude.

"You can't go back to the castle, Bernard. She'll have you arrested," his mother pleaded. She came into the room and tried to stroke his face and arm. He jerked away from her and she gasped as if he'd slapped her.

"I'd rather face Queen Elsa's justice than your mercy," Bern said, biting off the words and backing out of her reach.

"Nadja, is everything all right?" Lady Adele asked, approaching the guest quarters. "Mirabelle and I wondered why you'd been gone so long."

"He's leaving me," Nadja said, and she started to cry. "He's all I have left, and he's leaving me."

Nadja leaned against Adele and Adele patted her shoulder and made comforting noises.

"Bern, do you have to go so soon? Perhaps a few more days would see your mother in better spirits," Lady Mirabelle suggested.

"She doesn't want a few more days. She wants the rest of my life," Bern said bitterly.

"But I saved your life, son! You would have died like your brothers and sisters if I hadn't done what I had to do. Oh son, I just want to be your mother again, and you shut me out and push me away every chance you get." Nadja was sobbing by this time.

Bern's hands were shaking as he did up the buckles on the satchel. She'd destroyed Arendelle's economy, his career, and his hope for Elsa's love, and yet she somehow managed to make it sound like she was the suffering victim and he was the terrible son.

"Bern?" Mirabelle asked.

"I can't stay. I have to talk to Rodmund and Gustav immediately. There's an economic crisis brewing, and it turns out Mother caused it. She's organized a smuggling ring with Weselton, in defiance of the embargo, and accepted debased coinage in exchange. It's destabilizing Arendelle's entire economy. She's done it under my authority under a power of attorney I granted her two years ago. She set out to ruin me so I would be dismissed from the government and be forced to come home. She's succeeded. But I have to do what I can to stop any further damage." Bern's voice was shaking as badly as his hands. He had no idea if an explanation about something as dry as economics could possibly convey the panic he felt right now, and the depth of his mother's betrayal.

"It's a lie! I don't know why he tells such terrible lies about me! I've done the best I can with our family business, but Bernard hasn't helped me at all. I made a mistake, and he's so angry at me!" Lady Nadja said.

Bern turned a look of outrage on her, and felt slapped by the hatred burning in her eyes. She knew exactly what she'd done, and she hated him for finally telling the truth.

"You've destroyed everything I've ever wanted, Mother," Bern ground out.

"Then you should have wanted the right things, son. But if you want me to be the bad guy, fine, I'll be the bad guy. You'll get everything you've ever dreamed of, Bernard, and then you'll wish you could trade your soul to give it back because your own desires will destroy what you wanted most," Lady Nadja said.

Bern couldn't reply to that. He didn't have the depths of cruelty in him that his mother had, and he couldn't take any more. "I need to leave. Excuse me, ladies," Bern said shortly. That clench in his gut was back, twisting hard enough that he wasn't sure if he was going to cry or pass out, but he knew he didn't want to be anywhere near them when it finally happened. He left everything behind except the satchel of letters and ledgers.

In the stable, he packed the satchel and slung the saddlebags over Star's rump. Then he gulped, his stomach heaved, and he buried his face in Star's neck and held on for dear life, shaking so badly he was afraid he really would pass out. He'd never stood up to his mother before. He was sure he'd be proud of himself as soon as he got over wishing he could die. Star nickered into his hair and Bern squeezed tighter. A groom threw a saddle blanket over Star's back, and then the saddle. Bern kept his eyes shut and hoped to get out of there before he had to talk. He listened to the groom get the saddle cinched, and then the bridle in place.

"Get on and let's get out of here," Kristoff said, flipping the reins into place.

"I told you to leave!"

"I did. I just didn't go very far," Kristoff said. "Mount up and let's go."

~###~

Elsa was following Anna around the castle as she rattled on about the plans for Lord Tyvard's memorial service, and then for the arrival of the military delegation from Easthaven. Anna had soaked up a surprising amount of protocol, along with her lessons on diplomacy.

"We'll have to have a formal dinner for Easthaven after they arrive," Anna said. "That can happen once the most urgent military matters are settled, which shouldn't take all that long since the warships never even got here and no one got hurt. This will probably be the easiest obligation under the defense treaty they've ever had to settle. Arendelle is so impressive!" This declaration was accompanied by a squeal and triumphant fists. "I suppose we'll both have to attend all the military meetings. I already invited Harbormaster Stollen, Councilor Vilrun and Captain Torvin to be at those meetings too. Are you going to let Rodmund come or are you still snubbing him?"

"I'm not snubbing him," Elsa replied. "I haven't decided what to do about him yet."

"So when was the last time you talked to him?" Anna demanded.

"Not since he told me about burning the betrothal agreement," Elsa admitted. She wore a plain blue gown, trimmed only with black ribbon along the bodice and waist, which she kept fidgeting with to keep her hands from balling into fists.

"Elsa, they were trying to help you," Anna said. She stopped walking, and Elsa nearly walked into her.

"That betrothal was father's dying wish, Anna. They burned it because they didn't trust me to handle the marriage, and they were worried my husband would try to upset the balance of power in Arendelle. That's too much to set aside," Elsa said.

"Would you really marry Prince Dominic just because father wanted you to?" Anna asked.

"I don't know. Please stop talking about it so often. I'm trying to think, and every time you start telling me what to do, it ties my thoughts into knots," Elsa said.

"Maybe you should think about it less and trust your feelings more," Anna said.

"People like me don't get to have feelings," Elsa said.

"Oh, please!"

"My feelings are wrong, and they complicate things. When I have feelings, storms start, and crops die, and people start accusing me of being a wicked sorceress. Do you know what it's like to be afraid the room will freeze every time I have a nervous twinge? I have to keep my feelings under control to keep my powers under control. I wish I could get rid of one or the other, I really do. If I didn't have these powers, maybe I could have feelings like everyone else. But because I have these powers, I can't have feelings," Elsa said. "I know you want to argue with me, but that's just the way I am. You can't fix it, Anna, and the harder you try, the more frustrated I get."

Anna grabbed her and hugged her tight. Elsa almost relaxed and then she caught herself. She knew acceptance was the key to controlling her powers, but how did she accept something that complicated her life so much and caused embarrassing displays right when she most wanted to act calm and collected? Elsa tried to hold onto the memory of the good days. Everyone had bad days sometimes, they just didn't cover a room in icicles like she did. She took a deep breath, and centered herself on the fact that she really did want to do the right thing, as soon as she knew what it was.

"You were amazing when you froze those ships from Weselton, Elsa, and that was only three days ago. I love you, and you're going to do just fine," Anna said.

"Thank you, Anna," Elsa said.

Anna let go of the hug when Vilrun, Councilor over Public Order, rounded the corner.

"Your Majesty! Your Highness! A ship from Easthaven is sailing into the harbor as we speak. It's a lone frigate, not a response to our request for military aid," Vilrun said.

"Already?" Elsa asked, startled. Her mind went to the letter from Prince Dominic that Rodmund had given her. He'd said he was following the letter without waiting for a reply. It must be him.

"Go change into something more queenly," Anna told her.

Elsa nodded. "Vilrun, would you please invite Rodmund to join us at the dock, along with any other Councilors who are available?" Elsa asked.

"Of course, your Majesty," Vilrun replied.

"Good decision, Elsa," Anna whispered.

Elsa gave her a tiny smile in reply. Then both sisters dashed off to get ready to welcome the ship from Easthaven.


	10. Chapter 10 - Welcoming Easthaven

**Chapter 10 – Welcoming Easthaven**

Lord Councilor Gustav scanned the harbor as the sailors of the _Easthaven Explorer_ and the dock workers made the ship fast and ran out the gangplank. He was wearing his dark blue Council topcoat, standing next to Prince Dominic and his party, who were also formally dressed. Gustav could see the royal sisters and several members of the Royal Council, but Bern was not on the dock. His heart fell.

Prince Dominic preceded him down the gangplank, and then Gustav caught up with him to make the introductions. Castle Guards stood at attention, lining the dock, impressive in their green uniforms. Violinists were playing Easthaven's anthem in welcome. In spite of his mixed feelings at the occasion, he tucked away a compliment for Princess Anna and the way she'd pulled off a proud welcome with very little notice.

Queen Elsa was waiting for them in the small courtyard where the castle island opened out onto the harbor. She wore a high-necked deep purple gown, with a black yoke setting off her slender waist and a short black cape at her shoulders. Her pale blonde hair was wound up into a bun, showcasing her slender neck. Those brilliant blue eyes were formal and distant; her slim hands were bare. Gustav gave an internal sigh of disappointment at how beautiful she looked, and checked for Prince Dominic's reaction, which was as expected. Prince Dominic had never seen Queen Elsa before, and the start of delight was undoubtedly genuine.

But while Prince Dominic had an excuse for looking at Queen Elsa like that, Sir Lester most certainly did not. Gustav narrowed his eyes, and then followed Sir Lester's gaze. He wasn't looking at Queen Elsa at all, his eyes were fastened on Princess Anna, who was stunning in a green gown with blue trim, and blue ribbons in her hair. Gustav surreptitiously looked around, wondering why on earth Kristoff wasn't here.

Gustav stepped up. "Your Majesty, may I present his Royal Highness, Prince Dominic of Easthaven." Then he hoped the man would do something terribly awkward, like reach for Queen Elsa's hand.

Prince Dominic went down on one knee and produced a single sunflower, which he held up for the queen. "Your Majesty, I am your humble servant. I regret I do not have a better token of my esteem, but I hope this will serve as a promise of my affection."

If his life had depended on it, Gustav could not have said how Prince Dominic had procured a sunflower, until he remembered a boat launch that had hastily been sent out ahead of them as they approached the harbor. He now knew what errand was so pressing that it couldn't wait until they had docked.

Queen Elsa accepted the flower with her tiny smile. "You are welcome to Arendelle, Prince Dominic. Your timing is commendable. Indeed, we are most happy at your prompt response to our request for military aid."

"That was merely a fortunate coincidence, your Majesty, although I am everlastingly grateful for the opportunity to help our favorite ally. With your indulgence, I hope to mix business with pleasure, and make this visit about a more pleasant topic than an unsuccessful invasion," Prince Dominic replied. He stood and bowed deeply, his voice calm and measured. The overbearing boisterousness that Gustav had observed on the ship was gone.

Elsa nodded once, with queenly reserve.

Prince Dominic begged the opportunity to introduce his traveling companions. The introduction of Major Felix and his battalion of two hundred soldiers caused some concern, but Queen Elsa quickly turned them over to Councilor Vilrun and Captain Torvin. Major Felix assured them that they did not require quarters, merely a meadow where they could make camp.

As the group turned to return to the castle, Prince Dominic fell into step beside Queen Elsa, while Sir Lester managed to walk next to Princess Anna. Gustav held back a few steps and waited for Rodmund to join him.

"How did the conversation go?" Gustav asked him.

"It couldn't have gone worse," Rodmund said, his lined face grave. "We're in disgrace, old friend. My first attempt to talk to the queen resulted in her freezing the room and set off a tiff with the princess. I had to send Gerda in to calm them down. Then when I was able to talk to her, she was very upset we burned the betrothal agreement. She hasn't spoken to me in days. Vilrun assured me she specifically asked me to be here, but that's the most notice I've gotten from her since we talked."

"Did you tell her the agreement had been signed?" Gustav asked, digesting this bad news.

"Yes. I hope that wasn't a mistake, but it seemed best to come clean with all of it at once, rather than risk her finding out at a later date," Rodmund replied.

"Good decision. It turns out King Agdar didn't trust us any more than we trusted him. He'd sent a signed copy of the betrothal agreement to Easthaven before he died. I suppose asking me to send it as well was a test of my loyalties, which I obviously failed," Gustav said. "Prince Dominic brought the signed agreement with him."

"Worse and worse," Rodmund said with a sigh.

"How did Bern take the news?" Gustav asked.

"He doesn't know a thing, Gustav. He received word his father was dying the same morning I'd planned to meet with them, and left in a tearing hurry. Lord Tyvard has passed on, God rest his soul, and we haven't seen Bern since then. I heard that Kristoff went with him, and things haven't gone well, but I've no idea of specifics. Mirabelle and Adele both went to attend Lady Nadja, so I hope Bern and Kristoff can get back soon," Rodmund said.

Appalled, Gustav had no reply.

~###~

Queen Elsa's first impression of Prince Dominic was that he had an imposing presence, which he instantly restrained as he offered her a sunflower. Elsa said something appropriate as she took it, and wondered if Gustav had told him about her preference for sunflowers. After introductions, he walked next to her back to the castle. She noticed he didn't offer his arm, or make any move to touch her, and she again wondered if Gustav had given him advice about her preferences. Perhaps Gustav had changed his mind about Prince Dominic's suitability for her, and was willing to encourage the match.

"Arendelle is the most beautiful kingdom I've ever seen, your Majesty. The backdrop of the mountains framing the village with the ocean at its foot is stunning. Do you have a painting of the setting? I would love to see how an artist portrays Arendelle," Prince Dominic said. His brown eyes were darker than Kristoff's, and his straight brown hair was neatly combed down, except for a few stray strands at the back that defied the attempt to make them lay flat. He did have enthusiasm and charisma bursting out all over, but he seemed charming more than overbearing.

"I don't believe we have such a painting," Elsa replied.

"I wish my small skill as an artist could be equal to the task," Prince Dominic said with a sigh. "I enjoy painting with oils when I have the time, but I wouldn't dare paint Arendelle for fear of not being able to do it justice. Do you paint, your Majesty?"

"No, I'm afraid I don't," Elsa said. Painting was one more thing she couldn't do with her hands, along with embroidering and braiding rugs.

"Yes, you would do better as the subject of a painting, if any artist could possibly catch such beauty in something as prosaic as paint," Prince Dominic said.

"You flatter me, Prince Dominic," Elsa said, ducking her head.

"Please call me Dominic," he answered.

Elsa couldn't ignore the question in his voice. "Thank you. You may call me Elsa, except when the audience requires greater formality."

"Then we shall avoid audiences whenever possible, Elsa," Dominic said.

She just had time to smile at him when Olaf burst out of the castle, running and bouncing towards them. "Hi! I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!"

Dominic stopped and stared. Elsa heard sounds of surprise from all the men of Easthaven, and then Dominic recovered first. "I've heard of you, Olaf. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Olaf looked at the hand Dominic offered him without taking it. "Am I famous? How come you don't want a hug?"

Dominic laughed loudly and crouched down for a warm hug. Olaf's snow cloud got a few flakes on Dominic's red military coat, which he touched curiously as he stood up. "Yes, you're famous. We've all heard of the brave snowman of Arendelle and his devotion to the queen."

"And Anna too!" Olaf insisted.

"And Princess Anna too," Dominic agreed.

Olaf bounced off to greet everyone else and Dominic watched him intently. "Are there other such creatures you've made?"

"Not ones that last," Elsa said, twirling her sunflower. "It isn't a power I use on a whim, Dominic. The less seen of my ice and snow, the better."

"Of course, forgive the intrusive question. I will restrain my curiosity," Dominic said. "I beg the liberty of one question about the military situation you have at hand, though. Once our ships arrive, would you be able to thaw the ice trapping the warships from Weselton, or should we plan to wait as long as it takes for the ice to thaw in the ordinary course of time? I only ask because our ships may be here soon, and the amount of ice we saw may not melt for most of the summer. Again, I beg your pardon and hope I haven't made you uncomfortable with the question."

"I would be able to thaw the ice if necessary," Elsa said.

"Is that possible from this distance? Or should we plan to sail you out there?" Dominic asked.

"I would need to sail out there," Elsa said.

Dominic nodded and dropped the subject, turning to watch Olaf insist on hugging Admiral Wordonn, who complied with a bemused expression. "Charming," he murmured.

Princess Anna stepped up and announced the arrangements for their rooms, and apologized that the formal welcome dinner would have to be postponed until tomorrow.

"No matter, no need for much fuss. I am not my brother, the king," Dominic said. "We are simply grateful to be welcomed here, and are at your disposal to discuss military matters, although I hope that doesn't get in the way of the more pleasant matters that brought me to your shore." Dominic smiled at Elsa at this last comment, and she gave him her tiny smile in return.

Olaf came running back, and Elsa handed him the sunflower, which he accepted gleefully.

"You may rest and refresh yourself before dinner," Elsa offered.

"Thank you, Elsa," Dominic said with a deep bow. "I hope to see you again soon."

Prince Dominic followed the delegation from Easthaven into the castle, with Princess Anna and Chief Steward Kai showing them to the rooms they'd hastily prepared. Elsa could only imagine what a fuss Gerda had been in to prepare for high-ranking guests on such short notice.

"Gustav, a word with you please," Elsa said. "Rodmund, you too."

"I am at your service, your Majesty," Gustav replied.

"Yes, your Majesty," said Rodmund.

"Gustav, Rodmund informed me of the actions you took when my father tried to arrange a marriage between myself and Prince Dominic several years ago. I trust neither of you will interfere in this matter again. The decision will be mine," Elsa said.

"Yes, your Majesty."

"You are both excused from the formal dinner tomorrow evening. I won't require your presence at that time. Good afternoon, gentlemen," Elsa nodded and walked away from them. Her hands were balled into fists, and she didn't look down, hoping that the icy footprints she was leaving would melt quickly enough in the hot sun that no one else would notice them.

~###~

Gustav and Rodmund watched Queen Elsa walk into the castle and then Gustav sighed. "It gets worse, Rodmund," he said.

"Do tell, because I can't think of anything worse on my own," Rodmund replied.

"Before I knew that Prince Dominic knew about King Agdar's signature on the betrothal document, I made the mistake of mentioning Queen Elsa's regard for Bern in the hopes that Prince Dominic would abandon his intentions towards her. Instead, Prince Dominic hinted that my continued service in government depends on persuading Bern to go live abroad," Gustav said.

Rodmund cocked an eyebrow. "At least he doesn't plan to challenge Bern to a duel and kill him."

"That cheers me up, Rodmund, thank you," Gustav said glumly.

"Has your opinion of Prince Dominic changed at all? Perhaps the marriage and the alliance could work," Rodmund suggested.

"No, my opinion of him hasn't changed. He's as charming as most womanizers typically are, and he'll remain charming until it no longer suits his purposes, which will be after Queen Elsa is already trapped in marriage." Gustav stroked his goatee and thought. "Since I'm already in disgrace, there could be no further harm in speaking my mind to the queen. If I don't try to warn her, I'm sure I'll regret it later."

"You may regret warning her," Rodmund said.

"That goes without saying. The question now is which regret will be easier to live with. I think I would rather regret speaking my mind," Gustav replied.

~###~

"The battalion from Easthaven is encamped in the meadow south of Arendelle Village, your Majesty," Councilor Vilrun reported. "I have asked Captain Torvin to assign two squadrons of Castle Guards as liaisons to smooth any issues that may arise. They brought money to buy provisions, which they've been able to get from the marketplace, although the supply may be strained and prices may be affected by the demand to feed another two hundred people unexpectedly. That's an issue I would refer to Councilor Bern upon his return."

"Thank you, Councilor. That is satisfactory. Is there an update on the ships from Weselton?" Elsa asked.

"Harbormaster Stollen reported that the last sighting of them at dusk showed no change," Vilrun said.

Elsa smiled at him. "I commend you for your work, Councilor."

"As always, I am pleased to do my duty," Vilrun replied. Elsa won Vilrun's wholehearted devotion by offering him a second chance after he made errors in judgment during the Battle of Arendelle. His work since then had more than repaid her mercy.

There was a knock at the door of Elsa's private study and Vilrun opened it, showing Rodmund and Gustav.

"I was just leaving," Vilrun told them.

Elsa noticed that he squeezed Gustav's arm as he left, with a look both sympathetic and serious in the dark eyes under his beetled brows. She hadn't thought of it before, but perhaps Vilrun was hoping she would also offer Rodmund and Gustav a second chance as well. Honestly, she missed them already and felt more inclined to be lenient than she had been this afternoon.

"Your Majesty, I beg your indulgence for a few moments," Gustav said. "I accept the rebuke you have given, but as long as I serve as Councilor, I feel it is my duty to offer counsel, even if it is unwelcome. You are free to disregard it, but my conscience compels me to speak."

"You may sit down," Elsa invited them. They waited until she seated herself on the straight-backed chair by her desk before finding their own seats.

"Your Majesty, I deeply regret the concern you must feel right now about our actions four years ago," Gustav began.

"Gentlemen," Elsa interrupted, "I have considered Rodmund's explanation, and in all fairness, I must admit that I was not approachable four years ago. While I do not excuse what you have done, I do understand why you might have felt that you couldn't talk to me directly about the matter."

Both of them noticeably relaxed. "Thank you, your Majesty," Gustav said. "We had many concerns about the marriage; we did not know why Easthaven was willing to ally themselves with Arendelle. In an arranged marriage, there are usually promises made on both sides. Easthaven obviously came with military capabilities, but there were no promises that Arendelle had made, at least none we knew about. If you and Prince Dominic should come to an agreement between yourselves, that question would be answered, and we would work to carry out Arendelle's best interests."

Elsa relaxed too. This was what she needed to hear.

"However, all our previous concerns about the imbalance of power between Easthaven and Arendelle remain," Gustav continued.

"Easthaven is both powerful and ambitious, your Majesty. An alliance may turn out to be a conquest by marriage and Arendelle will simply be absorbed and cease to be a separate kingdom with its own identity. We'll be nothing but a tributary of Easthaven," Rodmund said.

Elsa had also considered this issue in the days since she had talked to Rodmund, and come to a conclusion that she knew they wouldn't like. "We're going to be conquered eventually anyway. There have been two military threats since my coronation, and both of them were sparked by a hatred of me and my powers. Arendelle has been at peace for decades, and then I'm crowned and we've had two invasion attempts since then. It's me – my existence caused this problem. If I can fix the problem by marrying someone, then it's my obligation as queen to do what's best for my kingdom."

Rodmund and Gustav exchanged looks. Elsa started to fidget with her skirt. The answer had seemed so obvious when she'd thought it out in the privacy of her own mind, yet it was just as obvious that they did not want to agree with her. She tensed up again.

"What's best for Arendelle is to maintain its independence," Gustav said carefully.

"How, Gustav? We can't afford a military big enough to defend Arendelle. Would it be me? Do you think I can protect us?" Elsa's voice started shaking. She'd thought of it, lying awake at night, staring at the ceiling and wondering if she could actually freeze someone to death on purpose, even to defend her kingdom. "I'm not a weapon. I can't kill people with these," and she held out her bare hands, "and live with myself afterwards. I would rather marry than try to be an army and navy all by myself. We can either be conquered by military might, or conquered by marriage. If it's by marriage, at least no one dies," Elsa said.

"You'll be the only casualty," Rodmund said.

"I'm not more important than the good of Arendelle," Elsa said, looking away from the concern in Rodmund's eyes.

"Unfortunately, your Majesty, you can't throw away your happiness that casually," Gustav said. "I'll admit that others can. There are many marriages contracted for convenience, or economic reasons, or for the succession. They happen as frequently among the commoners as they do among royalty, whether or not history takes notice of them. But you don't have the luxury of deciding on a marriage that your heart rejects. Your powers can only be controlled by true love. If you marry without love, you lose control of your powers again."

"I have Anna. She'll always be here with me," Elsa insisted.

"She was here for you all thirteen years you spent in your room, unsuccessfully trying to control your powers. She was here when you froze the entire land. Her love helped you put an end to it eventually, but she's not a magical talisman of control for you, your Majesty," Rodmund said. "You can't lay that burden on her. She'll try to carry it for you, but what will happen when your fear of Prince Dominic overwhelms Anna's ability to love you? There are things between a husband and wife that can't be healed by a sister."

"What's best for you is what's best for Arendelle. Marry where your heart lies, and let true love show its power again," Gustav said.

Elsa abruptly stood so she could move away from them. "Why do you assume Prince Dominic won't love me? I've met him now. Perhaps I disagree with your opinion of him. Perhaps it would be a marriage of true love."

"That is possible," Rodmund said carefully.

Gustav's eyes were full of frustration and concern, and he bit his lip to keep the words back.

"Gustav does not think so," Elsa replied.

"The matter may be too personal. My opinion is unwelcome, and not based on anything but my own observations," Gustav said.

"That's true enough," Elsa said coolly. "I have one last question, and then I will bid you good night. Rodmund, why did you want Bern at that meeting? It would have been terribly awkward."

"Yes, well," Rodmund cleared his throat and exchanged another look with Gustav, who simply looked resigned. "We noticed your mutual regard for each other, and, well," he trailed off.

When it became obvious he wasn't going to finish the sentence, Elsa nodded. "Very well. I trust you won't do anything to make it awkward for him to continue as councilor. Our regard for each other can't influence this matter. I trust Bern is professional enough to handle any personal disappointment without letting it affect his work."

Gustav looked even more miserable.

"Good night, gentlemen," Elsa said.

They murmured good night and left.

Elsa dropped into her chair when the door shut, folded her arms and curled up tightly. No ice and snow intruded, not even when the conversation had turned tense. She allowed herself some pride at this small victory before returning to the matter at hand. The longer she thought about it, the more necessary the marriage seemed. Elsa had been raised on the mantra of doing her duty despite the personal cost. This fit neatly into her life philosophy. If she was too happy, she would feel guilty about it.

Briefly, she remembered the feeling she'd had on Christmas Day, when she'd thought that someday she would marry Bern. But she couldn't decide such an important matter of foreign policy based on an emotional whim. _Don't feel it_, she reminded herself. Feelings were such unpredictable masters. She regretted Bern fiercely. She wished she hadn't let him get close enough to get hurt, and at the same time she was terrified he'd go away. He would do anything for her, and she needed him to stay, even though she had to marry Prince Dominic.

~###~

Dusk wrapped the summer evening in soft, gray light as Kristoff turned off the shore road and into the trees. "We'll camp here tonight, unless you want to go ask at one of these houses for permission to sleep in a barn."

"This is fine," Bern replied, dismounting.

Sven tossed his antlers as Kristoff got off and bleated at him.

"Whatever," Kristoff answered. "I don't get fat, and I haven't had much to eat in the past couple days anyway." He pulled the saddlebags off of Sven.

Star whinnied and Sven invited him to amble off towards a stream and a tasty patch of grass. Bern dropped the hobble he'd intended to put on Star and let him go.

Kristoff opened a saddlebag and started getting food out and setting it on a cloth.

"Where did you get all that food?"

"I went to your kitchen and asked for it," Kristoff replied. "Do you want ham or a hard-boiled egg?"

"Both. I'm starving. I haven't eaten decently in days," Bern said. He found a log to sit on and started helping himself.

Kristoff wrapped meat and vegetables in a flatbread and started eating. "Do you want to tell me what set all that off back at your house?"

"I told the truth about what my mother had done. It freaked out both of us," Bern said, licking his fingers. He felt calm about it now, relieved that he didn't have to pretend anymore.

"So? Keep going."

Bern searched for words that would make sense to Kristoff, and convey the enormity of his mother's crime. "Do you know what the economy is?"

"You explained it to me once," Kristoff said. "It's got something to do with money, and everyone's work. Stuff like that."

"I've been tracking some problems that have come up in the economy. Like a lot of coins are coming into Arendelle that aren't worth what they should be worth. And there is a lot of smuggling with Weselton, even though we have an embargo against them. An embargo means no one in Arendelle should buy or sell anything to anyone in Weselton. Does that make sense?" Bern asked.

"So far," Kristoff said, still chewing.

"It turns out my mother has been working with Weselton to smuggle, and bring in all these bad coins. She's weakened the economy, and it will cause problems for everyone in Arendelle. She's done it under my authority. I signed a power of attorney two years ago that gave her permission to run our family business, and then I didn't check up on her very often. I looked at a ledger every few months, but I didn't keep close track of what she was doing. She's cheated everyone in Arendelle, and it's all my fault," Bern said.

"But if she did it, then it can't be your fault," Kristoff said.

"Kristoff, if Lieutenant Moyes signs something telling you to do whatever you want, and you go out and do something wrong, is Captain Torvin going to yell at you or at Moyes?" Bern asked.

"Oh. You were in charge so you're the one in trouble?"

"I was in charge," Bern agreed with a sigh. "She's ruined me. I'll take the blame for this, which ends my career in politics. I'll return to being a merchant, which will mean starting over, because as near as I can tell, I'm fairly close to bankruptcy. I had a job offer as third mate on a fishing schooner, maybe I'll take that one."

"That's harsh. Is this when you start fighting back?" Kristoff asked, tossing Bern a wineskin.

"I don't fight back," Bern said after taking a couple of swallows. "She's my mother."

"You know, when I lived for a few months with my aunt and uncle, I had this cousin who got into the habit of beating me up. I let him do it for a while. I thought he'd get tired of it and leave me alone, but the more I took it, the more he dished out. I finally fought back. I was a lot smaller than he was, so I had to use a stick to get my point across. But after that, he left me alone."

"That's so straightforward that it's refreshing. If my mother would beat me, I would do something about it."

"She beat the daylights out of you these past couple days, Bern, she just used words instead of her fists. And you just take it. She'll keep dishing it out as long as you take it."

Bern's temper flared for the second time that day. "What do you think I should do, Kristoff? If I fight back, I become like her. My life goal is to be as unlike my mother as possible. Every time I have to decide how to behave, I wonder what my mother would do, and then I do the exact opposite. She fights to get exactly what she wants, so I never fight to get what I want. She twists words, so I'm as honest as I can be. She holds on too tight and calls it love, so I keep letting go of the person I love the most. If I'm willing to act like her, then I become like her. And yes, I'd rather get defeated than win if I have to act like her in order to win."

Kristoff took a few more bites and thought silently. "Yeah."

"Yeah, what?"

"Yeah, I don't know what to say."

Bern bit back an angry retort. He wanted Kristoff to come up with something because he was out of options himself.

They finished eating. Kristoff pulled blankets out of a saddlebag. Bern used Star's saddle blanket and wrapped up on a bed of loam and leaves. Kristoff fell asleep instantly. Bern wasn't used to sleeping on the ground, and the branches and rocks under his blanket kept him awake, shifting in an effort to find a more comfortable location.

The turmoil in his mind wouldn't let him relax anyway. Finally, he got up and walked across the road to the shore of the fjord. The reflection of the quarter moon in the sky floated on the water. Bern climbed up on a large rock and sat down, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders, staring down at the moon's reflection in the water. His thoughts took a melancholy turn as he watched the moon ripple in the water, tied to the moon in the sky. Reflections were shallow, without any reality or substance of their own. That moon in the water had no freedom, it was tied to the real moon in the sky and could only reflect what the real moon did.

Reflections. Bern frowned at the water as the night breeze ruffled through his black curls. He threaded his fingers through his curls. They were exactly like his mother's curls, only short. His eyes were as gray as hers. They had the same mouth and chin and fingers. He was already a reflection of his mother. Reflections were tied together, even when they did the opposite. An opposite is connected to its original as well, just flipped the other way around. He was reflecting his mother, even when he tried to be as unlike her as possible, he'd only managed to flip the reflection the other way around. They were still connected. She still controlled him, just like the moon in the sky controlled the moon in the water.

He'd gone along with her reality his entire life, and had never noticed the way it had turned his entire personality into a reflection of hers. He put his head on his knees in despair at his failure to break free from her. She would always be part of his life. No matter how hard he tried, he could only ever be like her, or be her reflected opposite. There was no independent life for him.

Bern picked up a small rock and threw it as hard as he could at the reflection of the moon in the water. The shallow ripples disturbed the reflection, and then smoothed back out, as if the rock had never been thrown.


	11. Chapter 11 - Courting Queen Elsa

**Chapter 11 – Courting Queen Elsa**

"Crops are doing well this year. The summer crops of berries have already begun harvesting, and wheat and barley are progressing," Lady Councilor Marda, Elsa's advisor over agriculture, summarized the latest reports on Arendelle's farm community. "It seems the land will produce enough this year to see us through next winter."

"I am so happy to hear that, Marda," Elsa said. "How are attitudes towards me among our farmers and ranchers?"

"My people report a few bitter comments, but the food the castle provided over the winter helped demonstrate our good intentions. There is more goodwill among the population than you might expect, your Majesty," Marda replied. She was a weather-beaten woman, above middle years, and solid with a lifetime of work and sun. Elsa, pale and slender, often felt like a white violet at the root of an oak tree when she was with Marda.

"Of course, that depends on not freezing the summer again," Elsa said. She'd meant the comment humorously, but Marda's eyes widened. "Which I won't do," Elsa quickly assured her.

Marda nodded. "Your demonstration of control when you froze the ships from Weselton is still rippling through the population, and has done much to restore their confidence in you."

"Yes, that helped Arendelle in more ways than one, didn't it?" Elsa said. "Tell me, Marda, when Bern mentioned shortages in goods we normally import, was he talking about foodstuffs? Are there shortages that will affect our food supply this winter?"

"The shortage affecting agriculture most is the metals we aren't importing, your Majesty. The shortage means farm tools are more expensive. Farmers can't replace rusty plows or broken axes," Marda said. "It's a shortage that we can weather in the short term. Most people can get by with what they have a bit longer. The shortage in imported spices hasn't affected agriculture much. I can look into the shortages in silk and linen, but we produce enough homespun and wool that the fabrics aren't critical either."

"It appears this crisis with the economy will build slowly, which gives us time to address it," Elsa said.

"Yes, I believe so," Marda agreed.

"One emergency at a time, then," Elsa said. "We'll deal with these warships from Weselton first."

"If I may say so, your Majesty, it will be difficult to overcome the issues with imports without Gustav's contacts abroad," Marda said.

"Of course he'll continue to work towards a solution," Elsa said. "I have confidence in him."

Marda relaxed and nodded. "That's reassuring. Thank you."

Elsa nodded too. All of her councilors were concerned about Rodmund and Gustav, and they would have to live with that concern until Elsa decided what to do about them.

Marda rose to leave. As she left, she found Prince Dominic waiting in the hall outside Elsa's office.

"Your Highness," Marda said, curtsying politely.

"Lady Councilor," Dominic replied with a bow.

"Dominic!" Elsa said.

"I didn't want to interrupt. I'm sure you have much more important things to do than let me distract you," Dominic said, coming into her study as Marda walked away.

"Not at all," Elsa said.

"I came to ask if you had a few minutes and would care to walk over the causeway with me. I could check in on Major Felix and his men, and you could show me more of your charming kingdom, if it's convenient."

"I am free for the rest of the morning," Elsa said, and wished she was wearing a dress that suited her better than this dove gray gown with the blue rosemaling across the shoulders and bodice. She was afraid it made her look washed out and pale. At least her hair was down in a braid. She'd decided it looked much too severe when wrapped tightly into a bun.

Dominic offered his arm. Elsa laid her hand on it and let him walk her out of the castle.

"Such fine weather," Dominic commented. "Is Arendelle always this pleasant in the summer?"

"Yes," Elsa said, and didn't explain that this was only her second summer out of doors. They strolled over the causeway, to the rhythmic sound of their shoes tapping on the paving bricks and the water lapping at the stone beneath them.

"Elsa, do you mind if I clear the air between us? I know there was some irregularity with your councilors and the betrothal agreement that your father signed," Dominic said.

"Yes, they decided to substitute their own judgment for my father's. I knew nothing of it until your letter arrived last week," Elsa said. "To tell the truth, Father had only told me that he was arranging a marriage before he died. I did not know it was with you until Rodmund told me last week."

"I see. Advisors have their place, but I'm not surprised that they tried for a power grab once the monarch died. Things like that occur all too often for royalty to be able to trust them entirely," Dominic said.

"I don't believe 'power grab' describes what they did. They thought they were doing what was best for Arendelle," Elsa said. She could be angry at Rodmund and Gustav, but that didn't give Dominic permission to criticize them or question their motives.

Dominic chuckled at her naiveté. "Of course they wouldn't admit their motives outright."

"May I ask you a question?" Elsa said. "Father liked the match between us because of the military might it would bring to Arendelle. I understand his motive, and agree with it myself. But what advantage would this arrangement bring to Easthaven?" Her hands were unfolded and calm. Not even a snowflake appeared. She could discuss this matter of foreign policy without anything as messy as emotion intruding.

"Oh, Elsa," Dominic said with a warm smile as he took the hand she'd laid on his arm and held it in his own. He stopped them halfway across the causeway and leaned against the stone wall. The cry of gulls pierced the warm, salty air. "I'm now forced to admit that I never thought of the betrothal as a political arrangement between Arendelle and Easthaven, but as a marriage between myself and the Crown Princess of a beautiful land. I am the younger brother of a king who has already produced three sons. I was never destined to rule anywhere, and my brother is jealous of his power. Despite my talent, he refuses to share Easthaven's government with me, but sends me out on these missions where I am not much more than a liaison. I admire you for your generosity in allowing your sister so much influence; Frederick would never do likewise.

"I hoped for a life far away, where I could have some small influence for good, outside of my brother's shadow. We all expected King Agdar to live another forty years. I knew I would likely never rule Arendelle either, but I hoped for more opportunity to do good in Arendelle than I had in Easthaven. I listened to your father talk about you, your intelligence and beauty, and I fell in love with the picture he painted of you. I hoped that if I loved you enough, we could work together and find a way to make Arendelle even better than it already is. Now that I've seen it, I don't see how it could possibly be improved, but my small talents are at your disposal.

"And so that is my confession. I thought the promise of an army and navy was a small price to pay for my personal hopes to marry for love and build an independent life, away from my brother's heavy hand." Dominic was massaging her hand now, smiling as he spoke of his wishes, and then he kissed her palm.

Elsa had been following this speech with a growing unease, particularly when he spoke of loving the ideal and perfect image her father had sold to him. She wasn't that picture. When he kissed her hand, she inhaled sharply and stepped away, curling her hand up as she pulled it away, and looking for frost that wasn't there. This was a matter of foreign policy; he had no right to have emotions either. He was supposed to want land, or a title, or something Arendelle produced, something she could give him and be done with. Instead, he had asked for her life and her heart and offered his own in return. She scolded herself for her reaction. She'd told Gustav that Dominic might offer a marriage of true love, and that was exactly what he'd done, even if he did love that idealized image of her instead of the real person. She should be excited and relieved instead of uneasy. Feelings were always wrong. Elsa forced them down and forced a smile.

"I appreciate your candor, and ask for your patience. I only met you yesterday," Elsa said, continuing their walk across the causeway.

"Naturally, I would never rush a lady," Dominic agreed, catching up to her. He reached for her hand again, but Elsa didn't give it back.

"I will be candid as well. Arendelle is in need of more military might. We've weathered two attacks since I was crowned, and I worry that Arendelle will continue to be attacked until we are defeated. Our defense treaty didn't discourage Weselton from trying to invade us, and it was only good fortune that kept us safe," Elsa said.

"Good fortune, or incredible power?" Dominic said. "That feat will go down in the history books, without your Foreign Relations Councilor watering down the description one bit. The trip to Arendelle was worth it, if only to see that matchless display of power. What you could do if you put your mind to it, Elsa!"

Elsa was taken aback at his enthusiasm. "My goal is to control my powers, and use them as little as possible."

"Why? A gift like that should be developed and displayed, Elsa! I could help with that! Think of the implications it would have for trade and battle if you could control the weather and freeze warships, freeze a country, or blow a gale in the right place at the right time! Elsa, have you ever thought about what you could do?" Dominic demanded.

"I never stop thinking about what I could do, but it isn't powerful and glorious like you describe. It's terrifying and destructive," Elsa protested.

"But you control it now!"

"Only by love, Dominic." Elsa was startled into saying more than she'd planned. "Control depends on love. If I'm afraid or angry, my power is destructive and uncontrolled. I was able to control the ice and freeze the ships from Weselton because I loved," she stopped.

"Loved?" Dominic prompted.

"I felt true love for a young soldier from Weselton. He was afraid of the battle. I was able to help a boy by stopping the battle. It all depended on love," Elsa said.

"Strange," Dominic commented, and his brow furrowed.

"Anna's love has also helped me control my power," Elsa said.

"Perhaps someday quite soon, my love could help as well," Dominic said, and this time he didn't let her draw her hand away.

Elsa stopped trying to pull it back and let him hold her hand. She had to give him a chance, and that meant not insisting on her customary reserve. Her hand wasn't producing any ice and snow at the moment, so he may as well hold it.

"Did my father tell you about my power?" Elsa asked.

"He referred to it only indirectly, but it was quite easy to connect the dots after your coronation," Dominic replied.

Elsa nodded. Her strange powers had not been part of the ideal image that her father had sold to Prince Dominic.

"Elsa, your concern that Arendelle will be attacked again is well-founded," Dominic ventured to say after a pause. "Sir Lester has recently been to the Southern Isles and reports that at least four of the princes intend to attack Arendelle in order to avenge Prince Hans' death."

"Avenge his death? He tried to kill me!"

"Yes, and you were within your rights to execute him. They probably would have accepted that. But they believe you poisoned him, which was unsporting enough to make them angry. I don't know if their coalition will hold together long enough to actually threaten Arendelle, but I thought I would mention it to you since your Foreign Relations Councilor seemed not to know about the possible threat."

"I didn't poison Prince Hans!"

"Of course you didn't, but they think you did and I doubt you'll be able to talk them out of believing it."

"Easthaven will help us?"

"Yes, as required by our defense alliance treaty, and also, I hope, as motivated by a desire to defend a land and a queen that I love."

"Thank you." Elsa drew a deep, shaky breath and focused on her duty. Arendelle needed Easthaven more and more.

A few minutes' walk brought them to the meadow where the Easthaven soldiers were camped. Elsa picked out the green uniforms of the Castle Guard against the sea of brown uniforms and white sashes. Soldiers straightened and saluted as they approached. Prince Dominic put them all at ease and talked with the officers. Elsa admired his easy way with people, the way he could be informal and yet clearly still in charge at the same time.

After they toured the camp, they strolled through Arendelle Village, collecting excited looks, bows and curtsies from people who recognized their queen in company with the prince from Easthaven. Elsa kept her hand off Dominic's arm and left distance between them. There were many in the village who had seen her singing and dancing with Bern just a few days ago.

Dominic didn't return to the important topics, and they chatted about nothing in particular until the conversation died and Elsa asked to return to the castle to attend to her afternoon business.

"I will see you at the dinner tonight. Good afternoon, Elsa," Dominic said as he left her at the castle. He reclaimed her hand again, and pressed a kiss onto her fingers before letting go.

Elsa nodded and went up the stairs, head held high. She'd barely had any feelings at all during the entire conversation, and even when she'd had a few twinges of concern, she hadn't set off any ice or snow. She would be able to handle the marriage just fine, and make a decision based on what was best for Arendelle rather than letting her personal problems dictate policy.

~###~

"Your Highness, you did an admirable job of welcoming Easthaven on such short notice," Gustav said.

Anna brightened and ate up the compliment. "Elsa vetoed my first idea, which was to make them all camp at the harbor and have Kristoff set off a tidal wave. Do you want to see the agenda I'm drafting for our meeting with Easthaven about the warships? Elsa said this is all foreign policy, so she wants me to take the lead as long as I don't suggest tidal waves anymore."

"I like your first idea, but don't tell the queen," Gustav confided, sitting next to Anna at the table in the library. "Let's see your agenda. Excellent work, although I'd suggest we talk about what to do with the warships before we bring up money. Easthaven will confiscate the ships as spoils of war, and we can ask that the value of the ships offset the amount we owe Easthaven."

"Oh, that's right! Easthaven gets four new ships! And we get a bill. How is that fair? Since we caught the ships, they ought to buy them from us," Anna said, scratching out an agenda item and filling in a new one. "I really don't care. Gustav, is Prince Dominic as bad as you thought he was? Because Elsa thinks she has to marry him because father wants more military here even though he's dead, and I'm so sad that it makes me want to cry and go hug Bern."

Gustav blinked and tried to follow Anna's flitting thoughts. "I'm afraid my opinion of Prince Dominic isn't welcome anymore."

Olaf came bounding into the room, clutching the wilted sunflower that Prince Dominic had given Elsa yesterday. "Guess what!? Prince Dominic likes sunflowers too! And surprises! I love surprises! So I didn't tell him about the tidal wave. That can be our surprise! And he was so impressed that I can always find you and Elsa! He said that was a special ability and he wished he could do something like that. Can I come to the dinner tonight, Anna? I promise to be good."

"Sure, Olaf," Anna said. "Try not to snow in the soup."

"I can sit by you, sir," Olaf said to Gustav, climbing up on the table and leaning over to see what Anna was writing.

"I'm afraid I won't be there," Gustav said.

"She didn't!" Anna exclaimed.

"She didn't what?" Olaf asked.

"Elsa didn't tell Gustav he can't come tonight!"

"Okay, so I can sit by him?" Olaf asked.

"No, I mean Elsa told Gustav he can't come tonight," Anna corrected him.

"Then why did you say she didn't do that?" Olaf asked, puzzled.

"Princess, as far as rebukes go, this one is fairly mild. Please don't make too much of it," Gustav said.

Anna gave an angry huff and folded her arms.

~###~

Elsa dressed for the formal dinner that evening in a deep blue off-the-shoulder silk gown with long sleeves and a waterfall spray of ice diamonds that fell asymmetrically across the bodice and trailed down the skirt. She'd added those herself. The ice diamonds in her hair decorated her braid, and matched the single pendant strung on a matching blue ribbon around her slender neck. She looked in the mirror and smoothed the worry lines the kept creasing her forehead.

"Are you ready?" Anna asked, coming in without knocking. Anna wore a brown and gold brocade that wrapped snugly around her slender waist, doing its best to accentuate her curves. The gown matched the formal wear she'd given to Kristoff, and Elsa thought it was a shame he wasn't here to see it.

Anna gave her a sad look and a sigh. Elsa knew she was disappointed at the effort she was making to let Dominic court her.

"Can we be friends for the evening?" Elsa asked.

"Of course we can," Anna said, and the sisters linked arms and swept down the stairs towards the formal dining room.

Just before they reached the antechamber where they would be ushered in, Anna said, "Elsa, did you notice anything about Sir Lester that was unusual?"

"Sir Lester? No, I can't say I have. Why?" Elsa replied. Her mouth felt very dry.

"He seems to be very impressed with me, and, well," Anna trailed off, and then gave Elsa a brave smile. "I hope Kristoff can get back soon. That's all."

Elsa almost said that she hoped so too, until she remembered that Bern would come with him, and that would bring another set of difficulties. So she only said, "You are very impressive, Anna."

Anna only smiled again, and then they were announced.

At the head table that evening, Elsa politely made conversation with Admiral Wordonn and Prince Dominic while Anna chattered with Sir Lester, who was regaling her with anecdotes about his travels. Elsa would rather listen to Sir Lester than talk to Admiral Wordonn, who was uncomfortably interested in her magic.

"But from the accounts of the Battle of Arendelle, you do have control of these snow beasts. The report your councilor sent said that Arendelle suffered no casualties while defeating the Hamarians. That isn't the result you have if the snow beasts had attacked indiscriminately," Admiral Wordonn pointed out, gesturing with his spoon.

Elsa glanced at Prince Dominic, hoping he would rebuke his companion for being too forward, but he looked as interested in her answer as the admiral did and so she had to answer. "It isn't a conscious control. I didn't think about what I wanted them to do. I was as surprised as anyone to find out that they hadn't turned on my own soldiers."

Prince Dominic gave up any pretense of being interested in his soup, and leaned towards her. "If you will excuse the assumption, it appears that your magic may be even more powerful and more subject to your control than you thought. Have you experimented with your powers and exactly what you're able to do?"

"If my magic is under my complete control, I certainly haven't noticed," Elsa replied. Then she went back to her soup, pretending great interest in whatever melody the violinists were playing and hoped they would take the hint and drop the subject of her powers.

"What do you mean by that? Councilor Gustav insists you have it under control," Dominic replied.

Elsa took some bread and filled her mouth to give herself a chance to think. Since coming out of her room a year ago, she had been surrounded by people who treated her with respect and deference. She'd never been subjected to a conversation like this one, and assumed they simply didn't know how uncomfortable they were making her. She swallowed. "Control is not predictable. Now if you don't mind, I would love to hear this story Sir Lester is telling about his adventures in the Southern Isles."

Elsa pointedly turned to Sir Lester who looked to Dominic for permission.

"By all means! Let us hear what my good friend has to say!" Dominic said.

"Don't leave out that part where you tripped on your own feet this time," Major Felix told him.

"I did nothing of the sort," Sir Lester said. "I stumbled when Prince Nels appeared out of the bushes, where had no right to be in the first place, just as his brother, Prince Hector, assured me that Prince Nels had no idea any of this was taking place. I'll have you know that it was Prince Hector who gave away the game; I was only the audience. And none of it would have happened at all if Prince Obadiah had been reasonable."

"Prince Obadiah has been in a fit of temper ever since Prince Hans died, you know. With Prince Hans gone, he's the youngest brother again, which is an unenviable position," Admiral Wordonn confided to them.

"That, and his name is 'Obadiah,' which is enough to put anyone out of temper," Sir Lester added, with a wink at Anna to invite her to share the joke. Anna returned a polite smile and looked away.

"I understand you froze that youngest Prince from the Southern Isles when he tried to kill you," Admiral Wordonn said to Elsa.

"I most certainly did not!" Elsa replied as the servants began clearing the soup course.

"She froze me," Anna put in. "But it's okay. I thawed."

"Didn't your powers respond to the threat by instinct? It seems to me that if the snow beasts are under your control even if you don't consciously tell them what to do, then there should be some instinctive defense from your magic if someone like Prince Hans is swinging a sword at you," Dominic pressed her.

Her powers had thrown up an ice wall at her palace in the North Mountain when she'd been attacked by the guards from Weselton, but Elsa was weary of having her powers dissected and questioned. She'd given up living when Prince Hans had tried to kill her, so perhaps her powers hadn't cared any more either. And she didn't want to talk about it.

"Hi Elsa!" Olaf called out as he ran into the room, bypassing the other tables where the members of the Royal Council and Castle Guard were seated along with some of the military officers from Easthaven, and coming to the head table. "Can I sit here?"

"Of course you can!" Anna said, shifting her chair over away from Sir Lester. "Could you bring Olaf a chair?" she asked a servant who was carrying a stack of bowls.

Olaf perched himself and his snow cloud happily between Anna and Sir Lester. "Anna said I could come tonight as long as I didn't snow in the soup, so I waited until the soup was done!"

"She said that, did she?" Elsa commented, willing to forgive Olaf's interruption since it had broken off an uncomfortable conversation.

"Yes. I wanted to sit by Gustav, but you told him he couldn't come tonight so I'll sit by Anna instead," Olaf said as he shook out his napkin and wondered where to put it. He eventually draped it over his feet snowballs.

Prince Dominic, Sir Lester, Major Felix and Admiral Wordonn politely pretended they hadn't heard that.

"Do you eat?" Sir Lester asked him.

"I love eating!" Olaf proclaimed as the servants began serving the main course, poached salmon with greens and potatoes.

The conversation flowed towards food and travel. Elsa encouraged the topic as much as possible. Sir Lester was the chattiest one of the group, and had an endless supply of stories about places he'd been. He did turn out to be the star of all his anecdotes, which made him more than willing to share another anecdote when Elsa prodded him to elaborate on something he'd said.

Major Felix finally broke into the conversation with a comment about the training exercises for his soldiers and a question for Anna. "Your Highness, when will we meet Guardsman Kristoff? We've all heard of him, and I confess I want to compare ideas with him about fighting in a mountain terrain. I've pored over that report of the Battle of Arendelle a hundred times, and I've got to know how he pulled it off."

Anna rubbed her engagement ring with her thumb and smiled. "Kristoff went with a member of the Royal Council to help with a family tragedy. I expect him back any day now. I left word for him to interrupt us tonight if he should arrive."

Elsa's eyebrows went up; she had not known about that invitation either.

"Your Majesty, did I meet your entire Royal Council?" Dominic said. "It seems to me that someone was missing, if I counted correctly."

"Yes, the councilor that Kristoff accompanied isn't here. My economics advisor, Lord Councilor Bern, was called away suddenly because his father died this week," Elsa replied.

"I see," Dominic said. "Well, I look forward to meeting both of them as soon as possible."

"We hope they get back soon. Kristoff says Bern is going crazy and Elsa shouldn't arrest him because that will break his heart," Olaf said matter-of-factly as he piled greens over his salmon.

Anna nudged him while Elsa got very interested in her potatoes.

Olaf looked at her in confusion. "How come you poked with me your elbow, Anna?"

"You're arresting your economics advisor?" Dominic asked. "Pardon my curiosity."

"Of course not, it's just a bad joke someone told and it doesn't need to be repeated again," Elsa said. "Perhaps Anna could tell you more about Kristoff's efforts during the Battle of Arendelle."

"And my efforts! I was there!" Olaf announced. "I made the biggest snowball in the whole entire world and Kristoff let me have my very own sword!"

"I don't believe that made it into the report," Major Felix said, setting down a bite that was halfway to his mouth. "You participated in the battle?"

"Yep! And I got a medal!"

"Perhaps you could consult with Olaf on battle tactics if Guardsman Kristoff isn't back soon," Dominic suggested with a smile.

Elsa suddenly realized that if Olaf kept talking, he was going to bring up the trolls. She did not want Easthaven asking as many questions about the trolls as they were asking about her magic. "Olaf, why don't you go check and see if Kristoff is back? Go see if Sven is in the stables."

"I love Sven! Will you save dessert for me?"

"Of course," Elsa said.

Anna cocked an eyebrow at her, and Elsa returned a controlled smile, deciding that turning the entire event over to Anna might not have been such a good idea. Olaf should not have been invited, and it was going to be terribly awkward if Kristoff did arrive during the dinner, without any idea that Prince Dominic had a personal interest in her. If Bern walked in with him, she was going to crawl under the table. Thank goodness Prince Dominic didn't know anything about the relationship between herself and Bern. She could bluff her way through an uncomfortable encounter, if need be, and trust to Bern's discretion to respond properly.

"Oh look! Kristoff is already here!" Olaf came running back.

Kristoff was striding across the formal dining room towards the head table, dressed for dinner in his brown jacket and tails, with a cream shirt, gold necktie and black knee boots. Anna sighed happily at the sight of him. Servants came with another chair and place setting as the head table stood for introductions.

"I beg your pardon for being late. I just got back and received the message to come as soon as I could," Kristoff said, bowing at the men across the table and shaking hands with Major Felix, next to him, as introductions were made. Anna contented herself with squeezing his arm and he kissed her hand.

"Where's Bern?" Olaf demanded.

"We wouldn't dream of imposing on Bern to attend a social function when he's still mourning his father's death," Elsa said.

Kristoff didn't say whatever he'd intended to say and just nodded. "Lady Adele arrived with us as well."

Elsa simply nodded and waited for Kristoff to notice that Gustav was not at the table with them.

"How come Elsa is arresting Bern?" Olaf asked Kristoff.

"I am not arresting Bern," Elsa insisted.

"You need to hear his story first," Kristoff said. "He might not mind if you arrest him. I mean, don't execute him or anything, but he'd probably be okay with house arrest in the castle for the rest of his life as long as he gets visitation with you."

"We're changing the subject now," Elsa said firmly. "Kristoff, Major Felix and the others wanted to know more about the mountain campaign you fought during the Battle of Arendelle. Gentlemen, do you have questions for Kristoff?"

The men peppered Kristoff with questions, who managed to answer without talking about the trolls. Elsa watched Olaf's puzzlement as Kristoff left the trolls' involvement out of his stories and turned a frustrated look at Anna. Anna looked sheepish and mouthed 'sorry' at Elsa. That didn't do any good.

Elsa's nerves were already frayed to the breaking point, and when she heard the little girl start to cry, it startled her so badly that she froze her fork. She dropped it into her lap on her napkin and hoped no one would notice that she was using her dessert fork to finish the salmon. Elsa glanced around, wondering why no one else in the room was concerned that there was a little girl sobbing under a table somewhere.

"Your Majesty?" Major Felix said.

"Yes?"

There was a pause and Elsa realized she was supposed to know what he was asking. "My thoughts wandered. Would you please repeat the question?"

The servants started leaning around them to clear the dishes, and Elsa slipped her frozen fork onto her plate as they took it away.

"I asked if you informed your military officers of your intent to participate in the battle and received their approval," Major Felix said.

"No, of course not. They wanted me to return to the castle," Elsa said, more concerned about the crying child than the conversation.

"With an ability like yours, they wanted to refuse you the right to fight with them?" Dominic asked.

"They were afraid I would either hurt myself or lose control of my magic," Elsa said. "Both fears were justified. I do not want to tell the story." The help she'd received from Anna and Kristoff to break free from the tornado, dissolve the snow monsters and put out the fire was a memory that was sacred to her for the love they'd demonstrated, and it was not something she was going to present for their dissection and examination.

Elsa's abruptness cast a pall over the conversation and silence fell as the servants brought dessert. Elsa had always worried that people would avoid her because of her powers, but the avid interest of Dominic and his companions was somehow worse. They were examining a freak, not having a conversation with a human being. Frost crept down the legs of the chair. The child ceased crying, but the tightness in Elsa's chest didn't dissolve with the silence. She felt guilty that the child had finally exhausted herself into silence without being comforted.

Eventually, Anna asked Kristoff about the weather. Admiral Wordonn joined in, and a stilted conversation made its way in ebbs and flows around the dessert course. They commented on the violinists playing in the musicians' alcove. Olaf finished Anna's pie for her, which earned him a dirty look from Kristoff.

As the servants cleared dessert, Dominic folded his napkin, pushed back from the table and beckoned to the musicians. "Come, we shouldn't end such a pleasant evening on an unfriendly note. Elsa, I'm sorry for whatever offended you, but you must forgive me and dance with me. Surely these violinists know a waltz or a reel, or anything more cheerful than these dirges they've been playing."

The head violinist bowed and offered to play a waltz.

"Thank you, but I don't dance," Elsa said.

"You danced with everyone after you froze the ships, Elsa!" Olaf reminded her.

"I'd be happy to dance with you, Prince Dominic," Anna said.

"After she dances with me," Kristoff clarified, putting an arm around Anna's golden waist.

"There aren't nearly enough ladies here to have a dance," Elsa said. "It will be too awkward to have only three or four couples dancing."

"Then I shall be the envy of every man in the room," Dominic proclaimed as he stood and held out his hand towards Elsa.

Kristoff stared at Dominic like he'd grown a second head.

"Come here, Kristoff," Anna said, tugging him to the side of the formal dining room which was empty and big enough for a dance. She started talking to Kristoff quickly and quietly.

Elsa lectured herself about giving Dominic a chance, and took his hand, wishing she had worn gloves. Dominic pulled her so close that her forehead brushed his cheek and they whirled off in a waltz. Elsa counted steps and hoped he wouldn't try anything complicated like a turn. Everyone in the room was watching them as Dominic did try to guide her through a turn, which she botched, and then the little girl started to cry again. Elsa staggered to a stop.

"Excuse me, do you mind if I cut in?" Kristoff asked Dominic.

"Yes, I do mind," Dominic said, turning to block Kristoff.

"File a complaint with Gustav about my bad manners. He can lecture me tomorrow," Kristoff said as he shouldered Dominic out of the way and put his arm around Elsa. He didn't try and waltz with her, but simply led her off the floor in time to the music.

"Kristoff, that was terribly rude."

"You're not one to lecture anyone on their manners tonight, Elsa."

"I am doing the best I can and you do not get to criticize me!" Her concern for the crying child made her more snappy than she'd intended.

"I cut in because you were freezing the floor."

Elsa looked back at the floor they'd just left, where her footprints left a trail of ice in circles around the floor. Dominic noticed them as well, and people at the tables craned their heads to see what was happening.

With a look of concern, Dominic closed the distance between them and took her hands again. "Elsa, calm down. It was just a dance."

The little girl started shrieking with terror as Dominic got closer.

"Can someone please help that child?" Elsa cried out.

Dominic and Kristoff exchanged a puzzled look as Elsa yanked her hands out of Dominic's grasp and backed away from them. When they came to follow her, Elsa's hand flung out of its own accord and a barricade of ice spikes poured from her palm, quickly growing as high as her head and forming a wall between her and everyone else in the room. There was nowhere to run. She was backing up against the wall of the dining room furthest from the door, with dozens of people between her and freedom. The temperature plummeted and snow began to fall as the floor iced over and icicles thrust down from the ceiling.

"Stay back! Leave her alone!" she heard Kristoff shout.

Her councilors and several of the Castle Guards came to join Kristoff in a line between her and the men from Easthaven. Anna ran around the end of the wall of ice spikes, waving a napkin. Elsa seized it and wrapped it around her hands in makeshift mittens as Anna folded her up in her arms.

"It's all right, Elsa. Don't be afraid. We're all here for you," Anna whispered comforting words over and over.

Elsa couldn't relax. This wasn't her own fear and she couldn't control it. There was a terrified little girl in here somewhere and Elsa was channeling her fear into this ice storm. Elsa's heart yearned towards that little girl, and she fell into the child's heart, which was consumed with terror as only children can feel it, with no way to cope with it besides begging an adult for help. The child's deepest fear wrapped around Elsa's heart and ripped away all the healing that had happened this past year because her fear was Elsa's own.

_He doesn't want a daughter like me!_

Kristoff joined them behind the wall of ice spikes and put his big hands on Elsa's upper arms. "You're going to be fine, Elsa. Stay with us."

Elsa shook her head, trembling with tears she couldn't let fall. Anna and Kristoff's love couldn't reach this child. The ice under her feet thickened fourfold, and the storm raced away, ice, snow and icicles pouring through the castle as the little girl cried and cried.


	12. Chapter 12 - Broken Mirror

**Chapter 12 – Broken Mirror**

Kristoff and Bern stopped in Arendelle Village for a few hours as Bern hired messengers to deliver a dozen letters to various locations in foreign countries. Bern got into an argument with a messenger who wanted payment in advance and hinted that Bern's guarantee might not produce as much money as he might have thought. Bern hadn't had time to go through the financial ledgers in detail, just the transactional ledgers, but he suspected the man was right and most of his fortune was gone. It took some fast talking and extra promises to get the man to accept the commission.

"You could go to the castle, Kristoff. I'm fine now," Bern said again as they left the building.

Kristoff shrugged, just like he had all the other times Bern had tried to dismiss him. "If I'm not bothering you, I don't mind staying."

A horse pulling a carriage filled the street and the two men moved to the side to let it pass. Instead, it stopped in front of them and Lady Adele leaned out. "I'd hoped to catch up with you."

Her driver helped her out and she shook out her tailored black skirt and brushed dust from her emerald green travel jacket. After she dismissed her driver and carriage to return home, she asked Bern, "What steps have you taken to address the damage your mother has done?"

Bern was surprised she believed what he had said, and said so.

"Bern, your mother may be our friend, but that doesn't blind us to her faults. Mirabelle can tolerate her dramatics more patiently than I can, and she stayed to keep an eye on her and give you time to get to work. Don't waste it," Adele said. "Kristoff, it's good to see you. Come, the two of you can walk me to the castle and we'll talk on the way. I came to talk with Gustav and make sure he gets the full story of your mother's behavior. It's shameful, the way you let her treat you, Bern. Mirabelle didn't think you'd be willing to tell everything out of some misguided notion of what's required of a son."

Bern could only come up with a surprised, "Oh."

They walked to the castle stables, Bern leading his horse and Kristoff letting Sven amble along behind them, while Bern summarized his priorities in stopping his mother's activities. Lady Adele listened intently, made a couple of a suggestions, and then excused herself before they got to the stables and said she would meet them in the councilors' wing of the castle.

In the stables, the head groom met them with a message for Kristoff. "Princess Anna respectfully requests that you dress for dinner and join them in the formal dining room as soon as possible."

Kristoff sighed. "Because that's how I wanted to unwind tonight."

Bern asked a few questions and learned that the delegation from Easthaven had arrived yesterday, and the dinner was in their honor. That explained the frigate he'd noticed at anchor in the harbor, flying Easthaven's flag. He nodded, glad he wasn't invited. He needed to talk to Elsa and Rodmund about the economy before he did anything else. Kristoff headed off to clean up and dress for dinner while Bern carried the satchels up to his private study.

Lady Adele's unexpected support had been welcome, and her skill as a listener had helped him sort out the next steps he needed to take. He lit the lanterns on the walls. There was plenty to do. He dropped the satchels on the floor next to his desk and didn't want to do any of it. As always, his mother was consuming all his time and energy. He was fighting her now, but fighting her required even more interaction than ignoring her, and he was already tired of the fight. It was useless. He could work as hard as he wanted on this problem, but he was still just waiting for her next attack so he could respond to that one as well. Ever since last night, he'd been fighting the despair of knowing he was only ever going to be his mother's reflection. People would always have advice for him, and either criticism or sympathy, but the essence of his struggle was never going to change.

Bern pulled off his boots and exchanged them for soft slippers. His jacket got thrown over a chair, quickly joined by his vest and necktie. He undid the top buttons on his burgundy shirt and ran his fingers through his tangled curls and shook out some of the dust from the day's travel and having slept in the dirt last night. His chin was rough with a day's growth of black stubble.

Lady Adele was undoubtedly going to be summoned to the formal dinner as well, as soon as Gustav heard she was here. It would last late into the night. He wouldn't be able to talk to anyone until tomorrow anyway. Tonight, he should get out those ledgers and start listing the people in Arendelle who needed to hear from him. He wondered why it mattered.

His mother never quit, so if he was going to be unlike his mother, he should quit. That would make him the opposite, still connected, but at least turned around instead of following her in lockstep. He could quit, give up, go home and spend the rest of his life trying to decide who he hated most – himself or his mother.

Kristoff would kick him in the teeth if he did that.

Kristoff didn't understand. Sure, life wasn't easy for Kristoff either, but he had clearly defined problems to fight. People like that never understood what it was like to struggle against these foggy, invisible problems that scattered whenever you tried to pin them down and changed shape just as you thought you knew how to handle them. It was a wonder he could see his mother clearly enough to be her reflection, especially since he spent so much of his life trying not to look at her at all.

When he'd packed to leave in such a hurry, he'd left a pile of personal items in a pile on the corner of his desk. He picked up a shaving mirror and looked at the reflection in it. He was only ever going to be a reflection. Suddenly angry, he threw the mirror. It hit the corner of a bookshelf and shattered. It shocked him. He wasn't the sort to get angry and throw things and he immediately felt that familiar clench of guilt that marked any attempt to stand up for himself against his mother. But the mirror was broken.

Bern went over and picked up a shard covered in cracks like spider webs. The glass slid off the backing, leaving him holding nothing but the thin wood with bits of glue still clinging to it. The reflection was gone because the mirror was broken. He shouldn't feel guilty about an anger that turned out to be useful; he wondered if he was angry enough to break the mirror of his entire life. He'd told the truth about what his mother had done rather than trying to cover it up – surely that cracked the mirror at least.

"I'm going to start breaking mirrors," Bern said aloud.

"That's an unusual hobby to take up," Lady Adele said from the open door.

He whirled, dropped the wood on the floor, and hoped she wouldn't ask what he was talking about.

"There are a couple of people here that you need to talk to. I didn't want to tell them anything about your situation without you there. They've got news for you as well. Would you care to join us?"

Bern was so rattled he didn't even think to grab his jacket as he followed her out of his study and down the corridor to the parlor the councilors used for informal gatherings. He'd assumed he was alone here, with everyone else gone to the formal dinner with Easthaven.

"Good evening, Bern. I'm terribly sorry about your father," Rodmund greeted him.

"Welcome back. You have my deepest sympathies as well. We all respected Lord Tyvard," Gustav added.

"Thank you," Bern said, accepting handshakes and wondering why they were here instead of at the dinner.

"My wife tells us you have news," Gustav said, gesturing for Bern to take a seat.

He sat down, wishing he'd put his jacket and boots back on. As briefly and clearly as he could, he explained what he'd discovered about what his mother had done to the economy. "I am responsible for her actions because of the power of attorney I signed two years ago," he concluded. "I was negligent in not tracking her activities more closely. So far, I've written to a dozen of our contacts abroad to cancel her authority and hired messengers in the village on our way back to the castle. I planned to spend this evening writing to our contacts in Arendelle, revoking her authority. Of course I will cooperate with an arrest if you deem it necessary."

They didn't seem nearly as upset as they should have been. Gustav only nodded and sighed.

Rodmund said, "We'd share a dungeon cell with you, if it comes to that, but it turns out the queen isn't the sort to arrest her councilors. You may have been negligent, Bern, but Gustav and I are guilty of subverting royal authority, and we did it intentionally."

"I beg your pardon?" Bern asked, wondering if he'd heard right.

"Have you ever heard of Prince Dominic?" Gustav asked him.

Bern frowned and thought for a minute about why it sounded so familiar. "Does he have any connection to Weselton?"

"No, he's from Easthaven," Rodmund said.

"His name came up in the letters from the Duke of Weselton to my mother that I read while I was trying to sort out what she'd done," Bern said.

"Curious. Do you have those letters? Could I see them when we get time?" Gustav asked.

Bern nodded. "So he's from Easthaven? Is he the one that came to answer the obligations under the defense alliance treaty?"

Gustav explained about King Agdar's plans to betrothe his daughter to Prince Dominic. He told Bern everything: burning the documents four years ago, the lies, the letter that had come from Prince Dominic the morning of Weselton's attack, meeting Prince Dominic who brought the signed betrothal agreement with him, the queen's anger at their actions, and their current disgrace.

"She plans to marry him?" was the only question Bern could ask.

"She hasn't made a final decision yet, or at least not one we know about, but she believes it is her duty as queen to make sure Arendelle has the military protection it needs to defend against these attacks that do seem to be inspired by a personal hatred of her," Gustav said.

Bern nodded. Of course Elsa would marry Prince Dominic; Elsa would put her kingdom's welfare above her own. He hadn't thought his heart had room left for any more despair, but it turned out he could feel worse than he had an hour ago.

"I suppose that now that it doesn't matter anymore, you may as well know that we'd hoped you and Queen Elsa would marry eventually," Rodmund said, rubbing his temples.

"That was the real reason we rammed your appointment through and put you on the Royal Council, even though there were several others with more experience. We hoped if we kept throwing the two of you together, eventually a romance would develop," Gustav said with a sigh.

And now he felt worse than he had thirty seconds ago. "No one ever thought I could do this job, did they?"

"For heaven's sake, gentlemen, are we quite through with the pity party?" Lady Adele demanded.

The three of them looked at her in surprise.

"Bern, there were a dozen men who could have been economic advisors, but you were the one they hoped would be husband to the queen. Take the compliment to your character for what it's worth and stop worrying about what people think of your professional abilities. How old are you anyway? Twenty-four?"

"Twenty-seven."

"You have plenty of time for a career. Do you know what Gustav was doing at twenty-seven? He was working as an aide to an undersecretary in England who hired him mainly for his ability to make coffee and speak French. Then he mixed up letters to two different ambassadors and nearly set off an international crisis, so negligence is nothing new to men your age."

"Adele, I'm not sure we need to get into all that," Gustav said, injured.

"What were you doing at twenty-seven, Rodmund? By that time you'd quit jerking Mirabelle around and married her, hadn't you? Not that you deserved her after what you'd put her through. Bern, Rodmund broke off the relationship with Mirabelle twice before he straightened out his head and married her. You should listen to Mirabelle talk about what Rodmund was like in his twenties - all arrogance about being as smart as he was until he outsmarted himself and fell on his face after he ignored advice from people with more experience. They were kind enough to dust him off and let him try again. Am I right, Rodmund? You know I am. It's a wonder the world still exists, with all the damage people do after they think they've grown up and before they have any actual life experience."

While this was a rather odd sort of pep talk, it did make Bern feel better in a 'misery loves company' sort of way.

Adele went on, "And now you've got a queen who hasn't even turned twenty-two. That dear girl is going to make as many mistakes as people typically make in their twenties, and because she's the queen, she doesn't have the room that others have. Let's all stop raining tears and start making plans to step in and unravel the mess she's made as soon as she comes to her senses. And you'd better be gracious about it, or you'll hear from me. Have we all cheered up now? Can we get to work? Rodmund, tell us our priorities."

Bern was blinking and trying to digest the idea that people expected him to make mistakes, and no one thought the world would end because of it. If he did get dismissed from the Council, he wanted Adele to take his place, and then he wanted to come watch the meetings.

"This matter of the betrothal is the most pressing. Economics move slowly, and the ships from Weselton are on ice, literally. Queen Elsa's decision about Prince Dominic is likely to happen first, and also have the most long-term consequences," Rodmund said.

"May I comment?" Bern asked. "The existence of the betrothal agreement is most damaging for its persuasive ability. Her Majesty's deference to her father's wishes is well-known, but it's just a piece of paper and people break contracts all the time – you pay the fine and move on. If Queen Elsa doesn't want to marry him, he may make things unpleasant, but no one will force Queen Elsa at sword point to honor the betrothal agreement. She has a choice; that's what I'm trying to say."

"It doesn't have the force of a treaty, does it?" Gustav said.

"Especially since it was concluded when she was underage," Rodmund added.

"Does the queen know any of this?" Adele asked.

"Doubtful, and we're not the ones to tell her," Gustav said. He waited.

"Yes, I can talk to her," Adele said.

"Take Marda with you," Rodmund suggested. "Under that no-nonsense exterior, she's got a soft spot for the queen."

"I will."

"Settled. Our next item for discussion is how to address the military concerns that motivate the marriage," Rodmund said, moving them along.

"Is it getting cold in here?" Bern interrupted.

Gustav and Adele turned to look at him. Bern opened the parlor door to reveal the blizzard whipping through the corridor.

"It seems she's noticed her mistake already," Adele said.

Bern was already out the door, running and skidding down the trail of ice and snow that led to Elsa.

~###~

Elsa clung hard to Anna, wrapped tightly into herself and the child's fear that wouldn't let go of her.

"Elsa?"

It was Bern's voice. Elsa let go of Anna and grabbed Bern, burying her face in his neck. With some hesitation, he put his arms around her and held her as thoughts of her ice palace on the North Mountain filled her mind and the warmth of sunflower petals wrapped around her. Anna's hands were on her shoulders now and Anna still murmured words of comfort. Elsa was feeling better, but the little girl was still crying.

Elsa knew who the child was and what she wanted now, and it seemed to Elsa that the little girl's need outweighed everything else, even the good of Arendelle. Arendelle would have to take care of itself; Elsa had a daughter to save.

_This is the man who will be your father,_ Elsa promised the child. _And he will want you to be exactly who you are, because that's the way he loves me too_.

In the manner of children, the little girl's mood changed instantly and genuinely from terror to joy like the sunrise. The ice and snow in the room disappeared in a shower of blue sparkles and a wave of happiness as the little girl's love erased the fear.

_Thank you, Mama!_

Elsa nodded an acknowledgment as the sense of her daughter's presence faded. The little girl's excitement was contagious, and she suddenly wanted to giggle about the scene she'd just made. Fortunately, decorum prevailed and she restrained herself. She let go of her death grip on Bern. He released her and stepped back.

"Don't let go," Elsa said. She took his hand and put it around her waist as she turned to face the room full of people who were scared and had nothing to fight. With relief, she saw that Rodmund and Gustav had joined the group of Councilors and Guardsmen between her and the men from Easthaven, whom everyone seemed to blame for frightening her into a storm. Well, she had no way to correct that misconception without sounding like she was crazy, and it was better to be thought emotionally magical than crazy.

"The storm is over. Lieutenant Almar, please check the castle for any remaining ice and snow. Lieutenant Moyes, please check the weather outside," Elsa said, pitching her voice to carry to everyone in the room.

Both men saluted and ran from the room. The people in the dining room remained silent, exchanging glances with each other and waiting.

The lieutenants returned and saluted.

"Lieutenant Moyes, what is the weather like outside?" Elsa asked.

"The skies are clear and the summer night is warm," Moyes said.

"Lieutenant Almar, did you find any ice and snow left in the castle?"

"No, your Majesty. The castle is clear of ice and snow," Almar said.

Elsa nodded and addressed the crowd with Bern still at her back, her arms folded over his arms around her waist. "I am sure the story of the storm tonight will be told to others. I trust that you will also tell how it ended, with a complete thaw that left no trace of a storm or of harm anywhere. Tell that the storm lasted only a few minutes, and that I accepted the help of others to end it quickly and I did not try to run away. I promised you last year that my magic would not harm Arendelle again, and I will keep that promise."

Anna was probably the one who started applauding first, but the others quickly joined in. Elsa let the applause happen, and as it died down, she said, "I beg you will excuse me for the rest of the evening. I would be happy to talk to anyone tomorrow who needs to discuss what happened tonight, or has other concerns. Good night to all of you."

As Elsa headed for the door, she kept hold of Bern's hand until he realized she wanted him to come with her. He put her hand on his arm, and escorted her out as if they'd intended to make an exit like this all along. She couldn't restrain half a smile when she saw how he was dressed as he walked with her through all these people in formal evening wear.

~###~

Bern and Elsa were already on the staircase when Bern heard Dominic loudly insisting, "You wouldn't deny a man the right to apologize!"

Elsa turned as Prince Dominic caught up to them, though Bern would have preferred to ignore him and keep going. He expected Elsa would be too upset after her storm to handle another confrontation. Dominic ran up the stairs and reached for Elsa's hand, which she didn't pull back in time.

"Elsa, I'm sorry for whatever set you off. Please say this won't come between us and the understandings we already have together. You know my heart is yours, and I won't be able to sleep tonight if you're upset with me," Dominic said, kissing her fingertips.

Dominic cut a handsome figure in his red military coat with gold epaulettes, a beribboned sash and a dress sword as he begged Elsa's forgiveness. Bern wished he was at least wearing shoes.

"It's no matter. Good night, Dominic," Elsa said, and turned to go, pulling her hand away.

"Please, Elsa! Say you aren't angry with me, and I'll beg your forgiveness for whatever I did wrong!" Dominic insisted.

"Her Majesty has dismissed you, and while I wasn't there, I'll hazard a guess that what you did wrong had something to do with being overbearing," Bern said. "Excuse us."

"I don't believe we've been introduced," Dominic replied, giving Bern's traveling clothes and rumpled hair a disdainful look. "Are you one of the servants?"

"This is Lord Councilor Bern, my economics advisor," Elsa said. At the bottom of the stairs, Councilors, ladies and Castle Guards began to gather. Anna came up a couple of stairs before Kristoff pulled her to a stop.

"Ah, yes, the one who is either getting arrested or having his heart broken. I've heard of you, Lord Councilor," Dominic said with a nod and a condescending smile.

Bern's first reaction was to apologize for existing, but then he thought of broken mirrors and the fact that he had nothing left to lose. "I've heard of you too. Your name came up frequently in correspondence from an avowed enemy of Arendelle to one of its traitors. What a coincidence to find you here, courting the queen."

Prince Dominic drew his sword. "You will answer for that insinuation on your honor as a gentleman."

So it turned out he did have something left to lose. Bern gave a pointed look at his hip, where there was no sword. "If your honor can be satisfied by cutting down an unarmed man, then you confirm the insinuation yourself."

Elsa's hand tightened on his arm. "What are you doing?" she hissed quietly.

"Breaking mirrors," he whispered back, thinking that reflections lived longer.

"Name the time and place, Councilor," Dominic said.

Kristoff was shaking his head in shocked denial, and the rest of the crowd at the base of the stairs looked horrified as well. While Bern agreed that this was the single stupidest thing he'd ever done in his life, some support would have been welcome. As it was, he needed a few days for a couple more lessons in swordplay. If he was going to die in a duel, he didn't want to entirely embarrass himself in the process.

"In three days time, in the castle courtyard," he replied.

"Agreed," Dominic said, sheathing his sword. The smile that played on his lips was smug and satisfied.

"Good night, Dominic," Elsa said. She backed them up and pointed at the stairs between them and Dominic. Power flowed out of her fingertips and covered the stairs in a ramp of ice, too slick to climb. She turned Bern around by the elbow and headed up the stairs so quickly that he had to hurry to keep up with her.

At the base of the stairs, Rodmund said to Gustav, "I always thought he'd be the calm and stable one in the relationship."

"Rodmund, do you ever get the feeling we've lost all control?"

"Constantly. Get your diplomacy out, and try not to tempt fate by suggesting things can't get worse."

~###~

Elsa strode down the corridor with her high-heeled slippers tapping firmly on the wooden floor, pulling Bern along. Bern was trying to take the time to admire her bare shoulders and the way the cut of her gown emphasized her figure, while simultaneously getting jealous that she'd dressed up like that for Prince Dominic. She got the door to her sitting room herself and pushed him in ahead of her before she shut the door behind them.

"What were you thinking?" she demanded. "You got yourself challenged to a duel? What happened to your judgment?"

"I left it in my jacket, and you're not one to talk about bad judgment, given the ice storm you threw around the castle a few minutes ago," Bern tossed back, still punch drunk on the ruin of his life and his impending death.

"And you think I'm going to arrest you?"

"I'm not sure how that comment got back to you, but it would show good judgment on your part if you did arrest me," Bern said, trying not to notice how beautiful she was when she got angry and her cheeks flushed and her eyes snapped.

"Do you remember when I froze the summer and nearly killed a couple of men and you still fought to keep me out of a dungeon? Tell me you've done worse than that, Bern, and then tell me why you think I'd be any less loyal to you than you've been to me!"

"My mother is the traitor who ruined the economy. She did it under my authority. I thought smuggling and economic sabotage on that scale would be occasion for an arrest," Bern said.

Elsa glared at him. "Well? I'm waiting for you to tell me something worse than what I've done."

"It seemed bad when I found out about it," Bern offered, resisting the temptation to smooth out the wrinkle between her eyebrows with his fingertip.

"And a duel? You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Maybe I could win."

Elsa gave him an exasperated look.

"You don't have much confidence in my sword fighting skills, do you?"

"I have as much confidence in your skills as you do."

"Oh. Touché."

Elsa came at him, grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "You can't get yourself killed! I've made promises about you!"

Bern had to either kiss her or fight back. "And what difference would it make to you? I hear you're nearly betrothed again to this Prince Dominic and his army and navy. He brings you a military, and you swoon for him. I may not have anything but a ruined economy to offer, but, well," he stopped.

"Well, what?" Elsa demanded.

"I started the sentence before I knew how it ended, but I'll think of something eventually and send you a memo," Bern threw back at her.

Elsa's lips started to tremble. She let go of him and started to laugh. "Was that our first fight?"

Bern thought about it. He'd never disagreed with her before, and he wondered if that unspoken rule was now gone with the broken mirror. "It was sort of fun, wasn't it?"

"You look awful, you know that?" she said with a giggle.

"You look more than beautiful, and I'm a little angry you dressed up like that for anyone besides me," Bern shot back, still experimenting with this new idea of standing up for himself.

Elsa smoothed the silky blue skirt of her gown. "I'm not sure you have any right to object about whom I dress up for."

"You may have dressed up for him, but I'm the one who will kiss you good night," Bern said. More than a little appalled at his own daring, he seized her around the waist, cupped her face in his hand and kissed her. It surprised him even more when she kissed him back, and then everything that had gone wrong in the past few days faded away and there was nothing but Elsa.

Elsa threaded her fingers through his curls, and then stroked her hands down his sideburns to finger the rough stubble on his face. She was so soft, everything about her was soft, her lips, the skin under his hand, her fingers on his face, her body pressed against his. He let go of her lips and pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder, simply wanting to know if her skin was really that soft and smooth. It was. He clutched her more tightly until she gasped and pushed back at him.

He loosened his grasp, but didn't let go. She leaned her head on his shoulder and seemed content to stay in his embrace. Her breath warmed his neck. "You're not really going to leave right now, are you?"

"What?"

"You said it was a good night kiss," Elsa reminded him.

"Am I invited to stay?"

Elsa seated herself on the couch, fluffing out her silky blue skirts, and then patted the cushion next to her. "For a minute."

"Can it be a long minute?" Bern asked, joining her.

He put an arm around those exquisitely beautiful shoulders and bent to her lips again. Her fingers went back into his curls, stroking through his hair as they shared leisurely kisses. It was a lot longer than a minute before Bern raised his head and Elsa sat up straight.

"On Christmas Day, you promised to fall in love with me," Bern reminded her.

"I kept that promise. But I'm the queen; I always knew I might not be able to marry for love. Bern, promise you'll always be here for me. Promise you'll stay, no matter what," Elsa whispered.

He was still pressing gentle kisses into her hair, unwilling to let the moment end and wondering if she'd just said she loved him in the most roundabout way possible. He almost agreed to do anything for her, as he always had, but there was a mirror over her dressing table, opposite the couch, and he caught a glimpse of himself – rumpled, unshaven, without even a jacket and tie, next to Elsa's highly polished beauty. They didn't match. He called to mind Prince Dominic's immaculate appearance and vicious confidence, and an uneasy suspicion grew.

"What does 'no matter what' mean?"

"I need you, Bern. I rely on you. We're friends," Elsa said.

"Friends? I have friends, Elsa, I don't kiss them like that."

"I don't either. I mean, I've never kissed anyone like that."

"Do you plan on kissing anyone else like that?" Bern pressed. He was thinking of broken mirrors. With surprise, he realized that he was going to have to stand up to Elsa too, or risk being no more than the role she would assign him.

"You have to understand, Bern! We need the military. Prince Dominic said that the Southern Isles may attack us as well, and again it's because of me. Arendelle isn't going to survive without an army and navy. We can't afford our own, especially not with," Elsa stopped.

"Not with the economy in such bad shape," Bern supplied.

"I wouldn't be the only monarch with a marriage of political necessity. Once there's an heir, people look the other way at other arrangements. Everyone does it."

Bern took his arm back and leaned away from her. "I love you, but I won't be your paramour. My intentions are honorable – I'd marry you tomorrow if you wanted me. If you marry Prince Dominic, I'll leave Arendelle, not out of spite, but of a broken heart. I'll always wish you well Elsa, but no, I won't be here for you no matter what."

Elsa abruptly stood and started to pace, fists clenched and eyes closed. "Bern, you don't understand what it's like to be queen. I'm two people. There's the Queen of Arendelle, and she has to do what's best for the country. She's stern, and she can't make mistakes, and she doesn't approve of magic at all. She has to marry Prince Dominic, do you understand? She has to! And then there's the rest of me and I'm only Elsa. You tried to tell me once that I wasn't only a queen but also a woman, and I guess you're right, but when the two of us conflict, the Queen of Arendelle has to win. But oh, Bern, I wish the rest of me could be happy too!"

Bern watched Elsa leave frozen footprints on the carpet. They started as footprints, but the ice began to spread until Elsa was pacing in a solid oval of ice. He understood her dilemma, and he understood why she thought he'd be happy with whatever crumbs of a relationship she offered him. But there was the broken mirror. The arrangement she offered would split him into the same two people she struggled with – the public image and the private man, both of them as shallow as reflections, never being more than what Elsa allowed him to be. He couldn't go from his mother's mirror to Elsa's mirror without losing himself.

"I'm sorry, Elsa."

A few seconds went by before Elsa whirled on him. "That's all you have to say? You're sorry? That's all?"

"I'm not who you wish I was, and I can't do what you want me to do. I'm sorry about that because it causes you pain, but I'm not going to apologize for who I am, not anymore. It turns out I'm not who you wanted after all. He has a military; I have a ruined economy. He can win a duel; I'll die at the third swing. He has a hereditary title; I have a difficult mother. I just can't try any harder than I already have to win you," Bern said as gently as he could.

Elsa stared at him in shock, her hands going to her cheeks, tears starting in her eyes. "I did that to you. I made you think that if you were just good enough, someday I would love you back." The ice spread out from the oval under her feet, covering the floor and racing up the legs of the chairs and desk.

"Don't turn it into that, Elsa. You're not your father. I'm a grown man, not a little girl wishing her father would love her even if she can't try harder."

Elsa started to sob at that remark, and then noticed all the ice and snow. "I hate this! I hate this stupid, awful ice and snow! I can't even feel bad without worrying I'm going to freeze the kingdom again! How am I supposed to stay calm all the time? Bern, if the ice and snow would go away, I could think straight!"

Bern stood and took her into his arms, seeking to comfort her. The ice and snow receded.

"I want to go to the North Mountain, Bern. It's the only place on earth where I didn't have to be the Queen of Arendelle. I need a place where I can be who I am without hurting anybody, but I can't leave Arendelle because of that Queen."

"Do you want to run away from home?"

Elsa sniffed. "I could only do that once. I'm too responsible to run away from home again. Bern, I have to marry Prince Dominic to protect Arendelle, but you have to be the father of my children."

Bern chewed on the inside of his cheek until he trusted himself to speak. "You know, Elsa, that's not the sort of remark you make to a man unless you want him to try conceiving that child within the next few minutes."

"Oh! I didn't think of that!"

"Of course you didn't."

"I told you I can't think straight!"

"I believe you."

"You'd better go. Everything I say is making things worse," Elsa said. She stepped back from him and turned away.

"Good night, Elsa."

She nodded, eyes closed and arms folded.

Bern took her by those beautiful bare shoulders and pressed his mouth right up to her ear. "Marry me instead of Dominic, and we'll have those children and find another way to defend Arendelle." And then he released her and left without waiting for a reply.

"Bern!" she called after him before he could pull the door shut behind him.

He paused. That was supposed to be his dramatic exit line, and she'd just spoiled the effect.

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

She certainly was not thinking straight, because he couldn't see how that question connected with anything else they'd said.

"I know some memories that are strong enough to be ghosts," he said after some thought.

"Do you think time can loop the other direction too? Could a foreknowledge be as strong as a memory?" Her blue eyes looked at him intently, pleading with him.

"Only in the Bible, Elsa."

"Oh."

"Which doesn't mean it couldn't happen outside the Bible."

Elsa's blue eyes faded into sadness. "I'm too many people, Bern. I'm the Queen of Arendelle, I'm just myself, and tonight I found out I have to be someone else too. Everyone needs me to be someone and I keep trying to be all of them."

"Reflections. Everyone wants you to reflect what they need from you."

"Yes. I don't know how to be anyone besides who they all want," Elsa said.

"Try breaking the mirror, and being who you want to be instead of who they all want you to be."

When she didn't respond, he decided to use that as his dramatic exit line instead.


	13. Chapter 13 - Another Ghost from the Past

**Chapter 13 – Another Ghost from the Past**

Kristoff woke Bern up before sunrise and hauled him out to the west courtyard, where Lieutenant Almar and Guardsman Riks were waiting for him.

"Suit up, your Lordship," Lieutenant Almar told him, pointing to a pile of padded clothing they wore to avoid injury while practicing swordplay. "Riks is the same height as Prince Dominic, so he'll stand in as your opponent. Are you fighting to first blood or a mortal wound?"

"We didn't get that far in the conversation. I could send my second to discuss the issue with Prince Dominic's second. Kristoff, did you know you're my second?" Bern replied.

Kristoff rolled his eyes. "Sure, I'll go talk to Sir Lester and let you know whether Prince Dominic plans to kill you or just humiliate you."

Bern finished strapping the gauntlet over his hand, picked up the sword, and got close enough to Kristoff that he took a step back and pulled his own sword. Bern tapped his sword lightly against the one Kristoff raised against him, and said between their crossed blades, "If you want to be my second, some confidence on your part is required. If you really think I've lost before I've begun, then I'll replace you with Lieutenant Almar, who seems to think I'm worth teaching."

Kristoff gave him a long look. "You're different."

"I'm taking your advice and getting off the sidelines. Watch me make it look easy."

Kristoff swung his sword down and broke the standoff. "This could get interesting. All right, make him beg you for mercy, Bern."

"I will."

"Lord Bern, I recommend you use a short sword instead of a foil. That will let you use your greater height to better advantage in the duel," Lieutenant Almar said.

Bern nodded. "Kristoff?"

"I'll talk to Sir Lester about the weapons too," Kristoff said.

"All right, sir, watch me first," Almar said.

He faced off against Riks and attacked. Bern watched intently, trying to pick out how the rhythm of their feet coordinated with what they were doing with the sword. Guardsmen Gerry, Lon and Riks had given him several lessons in swordplay shortly after the Battle of Arendelle, but he hadn't pursued the skill further. Kristoff pointed out when Riks went on the offensive, and how Almar regained the upper hand with a feint.

"Sir?" Almar invited him onto the field, still breathing hard.

Riks wiped sweat from his face and drew his sword again. Bern drew his own sword, and let Almar give him instructions. The exercise was invigorating. He'd never been slow on his feet, and swordplay felt good enough that he started to enjoy the feeling of his mind and body working together to do something both difficult and graceful. By the end of the second hour, he felt confident enough to try an attack without Almar calling it out for him. Riks parried as Bern pressed towards him with a series of lunges, then caught the blade on his own and flipped it out of Bern's hand.

"Good show, sir," Riks said as he sheathed his sword.

"You won."

"You made me work for it, though, sir. Not bad at all for a couple of hours of work," Riks said.

Riks was not the sort to give idle compliments. And Kristoff looked both surprised and impressed as he fetched Bern's sword and offered it back to him.

"You looked like you were enjoying that," Gustav said.

Bern wondered how long he'd been watching. "I was."

"Could I interrupt you?" Gustav asked.

"Take a break, men," Almar told them.

Bern unstrapped the gauntlets, sheathed his sword and walked off with Gustav towards the castle. "Have you ever dueled, sir?"

Gustav gave him a wry smile. "No, it wasn't an option for men of my class when I was of an age to learn."

"Sir?"

"My grandfather was a French peasant, Bern. My father was a groom. The lower classes aren't taught swordplay, or expected to have enough honor to defend in a duel. Adele's family was titled, which was why they disowned her when she married the son of their groom. We came to Arendelle because no one else here had a title either, but by the time I was considered gentlemanly enough to be able to duel, I was too embarrassed to admit I didn't know how. I know enough about swords to look like I know what I'm doing, but not enough to weather a challenge. Avoiding giving insults that have to be settled on the dueling field requires diplomacy, a skill I had to develop because I had no other way to defend myself."

"I would never have guessed," Bern said, which understated his surprise.

"It isn't a story I tell to many people. Overcoming one's upbringing to develop a potential no one thinks you have is difficult enough without telling everyone how far you've had to come. There are too many people who judge you by your origins instead of your destination. I tell it to you only because Adele thinks you're trying to do something similar. And before you ask, yes, I've told this to Kristoff too. Don't quit, Bern. I admire your effort."

"Thank you, sir."

"But that's not why I interrupted your swordplay. I need the letters that you told us about last night that mention Prince Dominic. While I hope you continue to prepare for the duel, you may as well know that Queen Elsa is spearheading a charge to either get dueling outlawed in the next two days, or to get to the bottom of this matter you raised with Prince Dominic and find a way to resolve the insult without dueling."

"She doesn't have much confidence in me, does she?"

"She's suggested that she might accidentally freeze all of Scandinavia if something were to happen to you," Gustav replied. "While I fully support your right to defend your honor, it could result in a glacier that stretches from the North Sea to the Arctic Ocean, and so we would like to consider some options."

"Oh." He hadn't thought of how a duel would affect Elsa.

By this time they'd reached Bern's study. He sorted through the ledgers and papers he'd brought and handed Gustav a thick stack of letters from the Duke of Weselton to his mother. "I wasn't specifically looking for Prince Dominic's name, and so I'll give you everything. Keep them as long as you need them. Do you want me to help you go through them? I've got several hours before my next dueling lesson."

"Princess Anna will be going through these with me. Perhaps you should check in with Queen Elsa. It seems several things upset her last night, and you have a calming influence on her," Gustav said.

"Are you and Rodmund reinstated into her good graces?"

"It appears so. She's speaking to us and giving assignments, and we are not suggesting she should do otherwise. I'm going to get to work now, and I recommend you do likewise."

"Yes, sir," Bern said. After Gustav left, he got cleaned up and changed into his council topcoat with a blue shirt and vest, clean trousers, necktie with a gold stickpin, and boots he brushed twice. His black hair was too curly to ever look neat, but with enough water and a comb, he could at least flatten it a bit. He hoped he looked sharp enough to make up for the bedraggled figure he'd presented last night when he went in search of breakfast and the queen, in that order.

Breakfast was easy to find, but Elsa was busy. Bern left word with Kai that he would wait in the library for the queen's convenience. Elsa's frustration with her magic and the way it complicated her experiences with ordinary emotions like fear and anger had been at the back of his mind all morning, and he wondered if there might be something in a book that could be helpful. King Agdar had been fascinated with magic, and collected several volumes on the topic, which his councilors politely ignored as the socially unacceptable aberration that it was. Once Queen Elsa's problem revealed itself, they'd realized King Agdar had likely been searching for a way to help his daughter. Bern wondered what he'd found in those books, and if Elsa even knew they were in the library.

The volumes on magic were hidden away on the lowest shelf, under more respectable books about philosophy, biography, and a collection of atlases. The history books that Anna and Kristoff were studying were stacked on the corner table. The servants kept the library clean, but there was a musty smell to these old books anyway. Bern pulled an armful off the shelf and set them on the table. The first volume was fairy tales involving magic, which he thumbed through and set aside. The second and third volumes looked like they were full of recipes, with ingredients he preferred not to examine closely. When he picked up the fourth volume, he knocked the one under it onto the floor, and it fell open where the spine had broken and several loose pieces of paper fell out.

Bern picked up the book with the scuffed red cover and examined the runes printed on the front before turning back to the page it had fallen open to. He was looking at a picture of dead trees framing a man lying on an altar with spirals of snow ascending from his head. The black silhouette of a creature with evil eyes and deformed hands stood behind the altar, arms raised. The facing page was entirely written in runes.

One of the loose papers that had fallen out was a map of Arendelle's mountains, with a trail marked on it, leading to a place spelled out partly in runes. He wondered if that was the way to the valley of the trolls, and decided to ask Kristoff. The other two papers were letters, and he instantly recognized the Duke of Weselton's handwriting from having seen so much of it this past week in letters addressed to his mother. These letters were dated seventeen years ago, and they were addressed to King Agdar. As he read them, his head swam and he sat down.

_My esteemed King Agdar,_

_I hope this letter finds you, your wife and two lovely daughters in good health._

_I've thought further on your concerns about raising Arendelle's trade revenue and have a suggestion that would give Arendelle an unmatched advantage. If Arendelle consistently shipped both the first goods of the season, and the last ones before the fjord freezes, you could double your trade revenue. You may wonder how this is to be done. Please reference the enclosed book._

_I know you're already aware of the strange creatures that dwell in Arendelle. I've met the most fascinating woman who has made it her life study to understand these creatures and their powers. She tells me of the properties of earth fire, and the cold that draws it out. These creatures have developed a series of spells that control ice and snow. While they use the cold to bait a trap for the earth fire, a human with those powers could use that magic to control the weather, thawing Arendelle's fjord and harbor a few weeks earlier in the season, or perhaps icing in the harbor of a rival kingdom. I'm sure you can see a dozen useful applications for such a power._

_I suggest you ask the cave trolls to sell you the spell (I have enclosed a map for your convenience). It only costs a bit of blood, but it can't be your own. They're unsavory creatures, but the spell would take only one encounter and the power would last a lifetime! Do let me know how things go._

_I am your humble servant, and etc._

_The Duke of Weselton _

Bern skipped all the pleasantries in the letter dated four months after the first letter and read on.

_I regret the unfortunate incident regarding your daughter. Do you think she'll ever get control enough to be of use to us? Or can you persuade the cave trolls to try again to give you the spell for your own use? I am assured that an adult could control these powers easily, so while it's unfortunate you must keep her hidden away for her childhood, she shouldn't have any difficulties as an adult. Knowing the stigma against witchcraft and sorcery, I know you'll do what's right to keep any taint of that from coming to the people's knowledge. I've studied sorcery only so I can avoid it more effectively. My own strong dislike of sorcery is so well-known I wouldn't be able to advise you further if there was any risk of impropriety attaching to me._

The letter continued with more paragraphs about the Duke's concern for his own reputation, which Bern only skimmed. He folded the letter and went back to the book, which was written in runes. The back of his neck prickled as he thumbed through it, looking at diagrams and shapes he didn't recognize. Then he reread the letters, trying to wrap his head around the idea that Elsa's powers were the result of a misdirected spell. They'd all believed she'd been born with these powers, but they believed that because that's what Elsa said her parents had told her.

Bern read the letters again, holding them with hands that were beginning to tremble, and wished that Prince Dominic had killed him last night, before he found any of this. As much as Elsa struggled now, these letters would make it worse. Or would it? Did Elsa already know what was in these letters? And if her magic was the result of a spell, and not something she was born with, then it could likely be reversed, unless King Agdar had already tried that and failed. These letters might hold the key to what Elsa said she wanted most – the loss of her magic.

"Hi, Bern! Kai said you were in here!" Anna chirped as she came into the library, followed by Gustav, who was holding a portfolio with the letters he'd given him a few hours earlier. Kristoff, in his guard uniform, came with them. "You aren't going to believe what we found out about Prince Dominic! What on earth are you reading?"

"Nothing," Bern said, folding the letters and shutting the books. This wasn't a matter to reveal without much preparation.

"That was the Duke of Weselton's handwriting. Did you find more letters you forgot to give to Gustav?" Anna asked. She approached him, hand held out for the letters.

Any further refusal on his part would draw more attention, so he handed them over. He would consult with Anna, Kristoff and Gustav for advice on how to present the matter to Elsa. Anna unfolded the letters and read them. Her face went white and she handed the letters to Gustav before she collapsed in tears in Kristoff's arms.

~###~

Elsa listened to Councilor Vilrun with relief. He was summarizing the reaction they'd observed from the people to her storm last night. She'd done the right thing to be open about it, and point out how quickly it had ended. While the story was spreading throughout Arendelle, it was spreading with the news that the queen could control her magic now and they were not in danger from her powers, even if there were brief unexpected displays.

"Vilrun, can you arrange for some of the Castle Guards who were at the dinner last night to run some errands in Arendelle Village, talking to anyone who might still have some concerns about what happened?"

"Yes, your Majesty."

"Thank you. And thank you for your presence and actions at the dinner last night. How are our guests doing?"

"They've mostly been content to keep to themselves, although I know Rodmund has fended off several requests from Prince Dominic for an audience with you today. We may want to talk to Major Felix's battalion and find out their mood as well. Admiral Wordonn and Sir Lester haven't shown any concern apart from their curiosity about what happened and what ended the storm," Vilrun replied.

"They'll have to live with the curiosity. I have no intention of answering their questions," Elsa said. No one in the room would have missed the fact that the storm had ended when Bern had taken her into his arms, but the experience with her daughter was too close to her heart for her to share with anyone, even Bern. And that reminded her that she owed Bern an apology for propositioning him last night. She hadn't seen any other way to satisfy both Arendelle's needs and her daughter's needs. But this morning, the certainty she'd felt when the ice melted had reasserted itself and she intended to reject Prince Dominic and let Arendelle take care of itself. Bern needed to know that. Thank goodness he'd told her no, or she might have gone through with that dishonorable compromise. And then she was going to scold him some more about that duel.

Vilrun bowed an acknowledgment. Elsa walked with him to the door and asked Kai if Bern had come by this morning.

"Yes, your Majesty. He's in the library. Shall I ask him to come?" Kai answered.

"I'll go find him. I've been in this room all morning," Elsa said as Vilrun left.

She hadn't taken two steps out of her door when she heard Prince Dominic call out her name as he ran lightly down the corridor, dodging Kai.

"Elsa! You have no idea what I've had to go through to see you again," Dominic said, taking her hands. She backed up in astonishment at his boldness and ended up against the wall, with Dominic much closer than she wanted him to be.

"I have matters to attend to this morning, Dominic." She tried to pull her hands away, but he wouldn't let go.

"I won't let you have matters that are more important than me," Dominic said, with a flirtatious smile. "Come, you shouldn't trouble that pretty head of yours with anything boring today. Run away with me for a few hours."

"No thank you," Elsa said firmly.

"Are you upset about the duel? I won't kill this economist of yours, if it would displease you."

"It would displease me very much."

"Is he the sort of man who hides behind a woman's skirts?" Dominic's smile turned from flirtatious to menacing, and his eyes glinted with hatred. The expression was gone so fast that Elsa wondered if she'd really seen it. "You said love helps you control your powers, Elsa. He stopped the storm last night. Would you care to comment about that?" Dominic said with studied casualness, except the grip on her fingers was tightening.

Elsa twisted her hands so her palms faced the floor and let her frustration go. A sharp-edged ice wall sprang up, knocking their hands apart and growing thickly until Dominic had to step back to avoid it. "No, I would not care to comment about it. Good day, Dominic, I have no plans to see you again today. Please don't trouble me further," Elsa said as the ice wall stopped growing.

She left him standing there as she strode down the corridor towards the library. She let herself in and shut the door firmly behind her, breathing out a sigh of relief.

Anna was hiccupping on sobs, clinging to Kristoff with Gustav standing behind her and patting her shoulder. Books and papers were scattered along the library table. Bern was coming quickly towards her, looking as handsome as she'd ever seen him.

"Would it be all right if I talked to you somewhere else?" he asked her, reaching for the door handle.

"No! Dominic is out there, and I don't want to see him again. What's wrong? Why is Anna crying?" Elsa said.

"Nothing's wrong! You know me, sometimes I just have to cry! It's like laughing, only the opposite, and I laugh even if nothing is funny, right? So why does something have to be wrong just because I'm crying?" Anna chattered, wiping tears away as her voice continued breaking. "We don't need to know what's wrong! That will just make everything worse!"

"She's right, Elsa. Leave it alone," Kristoff said.

"Does it concern me?"

She read the answer in their faces.

"Gustav, I trust you've learned not to keep things from me for my own protection," Elsa said pointedly.

"Elsa, it's just the timing. Maybe we could go over this on a day that isn't already so difficult," Bern said.

"Do you think I can't handle it? Why does everyone think I need to be protected? If I'm the queen of Arendelle, I have to be able to deal with issues when they arise. What is it?" Elsa repeated.

Gustav handed her two letters. Bern led her over to a couch and sat down next to her while she read them. A wall of ice came down between Elsa and her feelings. She read the letters twice in the light of that false calm, the lull before the storm.

"I remember the cave trolls," Elsa said quietly, to a room that was as silent as a grave except for Anna's muffled sobs. "They were so ugly and frightening. I put my hands in the snow to stop the bleeding. Father was so angry at me."

"Your hands were bleeding?" Bern questioned.

"Yes, father cut them. He said it wouldn't hurt. But it did."

"The spell cost blood – he used your blood?" Bern's voice was full of outrage.

"I guess that's why he wanted me to come with him. He wanted my help; he said I was his best helper and I was the only one who could do this for him. Then he cut my hands and said that was the help he needed. Up until then I'd rather thought he wanted help to pick flowers, since that was what we'd done on the way there. I didn't know that was the day the magic started. Father told me I'd been born with those powers, and I thought maybe I just hadn't noticed them before then."

Anna came to sit by her other side; Kristoff put his hands on her shoulders from behind the couch; Gustav pulled a chair up close to her and sat down. Next to her, Bern started to shudder.

"Bern?" she asked.

"He hurt you, and no one was there to stop him," Bern said. He pulled Elsa onto his lap, cradling her like a child.

It was Bern's compassion on her behalf that broke through the wall of ice and gave her permission to feel. The injustice of it came crashing down on her first. Her father told her she was born cursed. She'd believed every word he'd ever said to her, tried to do everything he'd ever asked, poured out her soul in love the way only a child can love, and all her efforts had been sucked down the worthless whirlpool of a father who lied. He had never once put her need for honesty above his own need to conceal what he'd done. He let the consequences of his thirst for power crush the joy out of her childhood, and never apologized to her.

Elsa heard a little girl crying again, only this time there was no sense of another presence in the room. After a moment, she realized she was the one who was crying. The futility of her childhood rose up and mocked her. All those wasted years, isolating herself from Anna, missing out on everything normal children got to do, and trying to earn her parents' love were gone forever and she would never get them back. All her sacrifice and effort had been for nothing.

The horror of her future loomed before her, a lifetime of pain and struggle still waited as every difficulty she experienced would be compounded by magic and the danger of hurting everyone around her if she couldn't keep control. Her father had raised the bar of humanity impossibly high for her, and every day she would wonder if this was the day she finally couldn't stay in the fight any longer.

Elsa curled up tightly, eyes closed and fists clenched, fighting for control of her feelings. If she let the magic go, she would freeze the entire castle. But if she drew the magic in too fully, she risked setting off a blast of magic like the one that had frozen Anna's heart after she'd pulled the storm into herself on the North Mountain. She was balanced on a knife edge between freezing Arendelle and freezing the hearts of everyone in the room. She was losing control. She was going to kill them all. She couldn't understand why it felt like she was wrapped in a warm blanket of sunflower petals.

"I'll go for help," Anna said.

"Kristoff, go with her and clear the corridor," Gustav ordered.

The door opened and shut. Elsa wished someone had said if the ice had gotten through the door.

"The North Mountain," she managed to say, eyes still shut so she wouldn't have to see what she was doing.

"We'll get you there. We'll get you there as soon as possible," Bern promised.

Elsa nodded against his chest, and employed every trick she'd learned through her childhood to stop feeling and stop the ice. She managed to achieve a state of hollowness, where the memories set off echoes that faded with every repetition until she forgot they'd happened at all. It left her without a past, floating in unreality and confusion.

"Here, dearie, drink this," said a familiar voice, holding a cup to her lips.

Elsa took a sip. It was apple cider, with a bitter taste, and she turned her head after a swallow.

"It will help you sleep," Gerda promised.

Oblivion. They offered oblivion. Elsa drained the cup and held still until a welcome blackness crept over her mind and heart and wiped out both past and future.

~###~

Anna let go of the breath she was holding as Elsa relaxed into sleep.

Gustav said, "Kristoff, find Lieutenant Almar. I want sentries on each end of the corridor. No one gets near the queen."

"Yes, sir," Kristoff said and left.

Anna took Elsa's limp hand and threaded their fingers together. "She would never let me do that for her."

"Beg pardon?" Bern asked.

"She would never let me love her enough to stop the snow. There isn't a snowflake in this room, Bern," Anna said.

Bern seemed to register the absence of snow for the first time.

Anna blinked back tears and scolded herself for being jealous of Bern. She'd wanted Elsa to fall in love with Bern, and she shouldn't feel bad that Elsa had done what everyone wanted her to do. She just hadn't realized that Elsa would rely on Bern instead of her.

"Bern, you and Gerda settle the queen into her room, and then find someone else to stay with her. You both need to be at the meeting we're holding to decide how to best help the queen without setting off a crisis like we had last summer," Gustav said. "Your Highness, we'll meet in the councilors' parlor since that location is less likely to draw the attention of anyone from Easthaven."

"She wants to go to the North Mountain," Bern said.

"That may be safer than insisting she stay here," Gustav said.

Anna nodded and stood up, crying silently now. She had to be strong and help Elsa. She always had to be strong and help Elsa.

Bern studied Anna's face, and then took her hand and pulled her back down to sit next to him where he could put his free arm around her. "I'm sorry about your father, Anna."

It would be easier to resent Bern if he would stop being so nice all the time. Anna's sobs overwhelmed her again, and she hadn't even known she was crying about Father until Bern said so. "It's like he's dying all over again. His body died in the storm at sea. But what I want to believe about him keeps dying in pieces. And Mother too. She knew Elsa wasn't born with those powers, and she never said a word."

Gustav gave up on being busy and efficient and came to sit by Anna as well. She shifted from Bern to Gustav. Anna cried herself out, hiccupped, sniffed, and said, "I'm all right now. Let's do what we need to do."

"Good girl, Anna," Gustav said, with a final squeeze before he let go of her.

Anna wiped her eyes and wondered why she hadn't told Gustav to drop the formalities months ago. She wanted to just be 'Anna' with him.

"Gustav, I'm going to be late to that meeting. I've got another dueling lesson," Bern said.

"Perhaps that could be rescheduled," Gustav suggested.

"I really need to kill someone right now, Gustav, and the fact that he's already dead complicates matters for me, so I'm going to pretend I can kill him and hope that helps. I'll get there when I can," Bern said.

"All right, Bern," Gustav agreed without further protest.

"Bring the queen and let's get her tucked in to bed," Gerda said, fussing over Elsa's skirts as Bern stood up with her in his arms. He followed Gerda.

"Are you ready, your Highness?" Gustav asked.

"Call me Anna, please. You don't have to say 'your Highness' anymore."

Gustav hugged her around the shoulders again as they walked out of the room together to gather up a few more people. Anna sniffed, and didn't look back to watch Bern taking care of Elsa.


	14. Chapter 14 - The North Mountain

**Author note: As you read in "The Unlikely Heroes of Arendelle," I mistakenly thought that Marshmallow was gone. He's still gone in this story. Also, I drafted this chapter before seeing "Frozen Fever," and so before I knew Olaf had 1000 little brothers who live in Elsa's ice palace. The point is, Elsa's ice palace is empty, and she can be alone there.**

* * *

**Chapter 14 – The North Mountain**

Elsa pulled the hood further down over her hair as Bern drove the carriage along the outskirts of Arendelle Village, towards the east road that wound through the Albion Basin and up the valley that eventually led to the North Mountain. She wore a plain, brown traveling dress with an unadorned brown cloak. Her councilors, Anna, Gerda and Kristoff all insisted she couldn't go alone this time, and it had been easier to cooperate than to argue. So she insisted Bern be the one to accompany her, thinking that would prevent him from dueling with Prince Dominic in her absence. They'd agreed so quickly she suspected that had been the plan all along. Olaf was behind the seat, having exhausted his chatter about how he loved everything about what was going on. Bern told him he couldn't sit on the roof of the carriage until they were away from people who might recognize them. Her departure had to be kept secret.

Whatever had been in that drink Gerda had given her yesterday was still coating her thoughts with fog, and she kept silent, still half in a daze. Instead of thinking, she was noticing everything around her in great detail, the amount of leaves on the trees they were passing, the variety of colors in the wildflowers lining the road, the call of birdsong floating through the trees, the clop of the horse's hooves on the hard-packed dirt road, the smell of dirt and growing things. If she spent the rest of her life on the North Mountain, then this was the last time she would see any of that. She loved summer as much as Olaf did, and the North Mountain would be nothing but winter forever. So she bid farewell to summer as they drove.

A few hours later, they stopped for a quiet lunch, and when they continued their journey, Bern told Olaf he could sit on the roof if he wanted. Bern boosted him up, and Olaf happily regaled them with a description of everything he could see and how much he loved it. Elsa smiled, listening to him.

Then she remembered she owed Bern an apology for propositioning him. "Bern, I'm sorry for what I asked you to do the other day. I'm glad you refused, but I shouldn't have asked in the first place," Elsa said.

"Apology accepted; please don't worry about it," Bern said.

"I was two people that night, and I was trying to make both of them happy instead of choosing between them," Elsa said. The idea of being two people had been growing ever since she'd tried to explain the feeling to Bern that night. The Queen of Arendelle had been in charge for her entire life. Elsa hadn't even known there was another version of herself until this past year, after she'd come out of hiding and started interacting with people who knew about her magic. The Queen of Arendelle didn't like Elsa very much; she disapproved of mistakes, magic and happiness. Elsa was afraid of the Queen of Arendelle, which set up some strange echoes in her head that she couldn't entirely blame on the drug Gerda had given her.

Bern only nodded. He was being very quiet on this drive, and Elsa appreciated that she didn't have to try and make conversation unless she wanted to. Her mind was still moving sluggishly, throwing up a random thought here and there, and then retreating back behind that ice wall that kept her feelings at bay. She was glad it had returned; she couldn't bear the weight of feeling again. The monotonous movement of the carriage lulled her into half a doze, and she nodded off against Bern's shoulder, jerking upright when they hit a bump, and then fading out again. Every so often she heard Olaf counting butterflies.

"I'm still angry with you, you know," Elsa said when a bump in the road woke her up again.

"Oh?"

"You thought I would arrest you because of the economy and you didn't even expect me to be understanding or give you a chance to fix the problem, Bern. That was very unjust of you. You've helped me so much, and the one time I would have a chance to help you, you assumed I would arrest you."

"I'm sorry about that comment, Elsa. I was very low when I made it, and before we left, I got a chance to rip Kristoff's ears off for repeating it," Bern said.

"I would have liked to hear that," Elsa said.

"It's probably better that you didn't," Bern replied.

He hadn't said that he knew she would never have arrested him, though, he just said he was sorry she'd heard the comment. The thought went bumping up against the ice wall around her heart, and feelings started to leak through. Anger.

"You shouldn't have even thought it, Bern," she snapped at him. "It was your mother that committed the crimes. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she knew you would be blamed for it. Why did you think I would play into her hands and punish you for what she did?"

"In a way, it was my fault. I should have kept closer track of what she was doing and stopped her sooner," Bern said.

"So that was your crime? You trusted your mother to not deliberately ruin your life? You think I would have put you in a dungeon to punish you for trusting your mother to act like a mother instead of like an enemy?" Elsa's voice was spiraling higher. The floor of the carriage started to ice over.

"I'm sorry, Elsa, I should have known you would have seen the truth."

He was patronizing her to try and get her to calm down. Really, he thought she would have arrested him because of what his mother had done. That's what he thought of her. The ice wall around her heart blew apart in a blast of anger and Elsa threw her hands out and a barricade of ice spikes erupted at the side of the road.

The horse whinnied, reared and bolted. Elsa threw a spray of ice at the sky as she lost her balance and fell backwards off the seat. Bern kept a steady pull on the reins and managed to keep the carriage from overturning until the horse outran his panic and slowed again. When the horse slowed to a stop, Bern leaped out of the carriage. "Olaf? Are you still up there?"

Olaf was a hundred yards behind them, scurrying up as fast as his snowballs could go.

"Elsa, what was that about?" Bern sounded upset.

Elsa got out of the carriage too, hands balled into fists, fighting the desire to throw those ice spikes at Bern. She was so angry she wanted to hurt someone, and Bern was the only available target. "I wouldn't hold you responsible for what your mother did, Bern! It wasn't your fault and you shouldn't have to suffer because of her! It wouldn't be fair! How could you think I would be so unfair!?" By this time, Elsa was screaming at him, and when she raised her hands against him, he grabbed her palms and wouldn't let go. She struggled, trying to break free from him, but he just held on tighter. Her magic and anger couldn't get past Bern's grip.

"It isn't fair!" she screamed at him one last time before she started to sob.

"No, it isn't fair. It isn't fair that your father consorted with black magic and you've paid the penalty for it every day of your life while he waltzed through life acting like he had no idea what was wrong. It wasn't one bit fair, and you should be angry about it," Bern said. He turned her around so he could hold her while still not releasing the palms of her hands. "You, of all people, would be merciful in a situation like that, and it was my own error to think differently. Of course you would never do to me what your father did to you. But you're angry at him right now, not me."

Elsa had never been able to cry when she was a child, and it seemed she was trying to make up for all those lost opportunities. Bern let go of her hands and she could get her arms around him and let him hold her while the anger dissolved into tears. Olaf eventually caught up to them and patted her skirt with a twig hand, his big mouth sad with concern.

She cried herself out, her tears soaking through his jacket. The ice wall around her heart was back, but she didn't trust it anymore. "Bern, I have to go alone from here. I was so angry that I actually wanted to hurt you, and I don't trust myself not to do it next time."

"We're close to the snowline, Elsa. Can I get you as far as the snowline?"

"No, I might hurt you. I've hurt Anna; please don't give me the opportunity to hurt you too." If the ice wall broke again, she didn't know what would happen – ice spikes, snow monsters, deep freezes, magical blasts through the heart. She knew she was capable of hurting people she loved who were only trying to help her.

"All right," he said, and she relaxed to have his permission. "Let me get you a few things."

"Will you be all right?" she asked.

"I've spent a few weeks camping in the snow with Kristoff. I'll be fine," Bern replied.

"Can we make the bonfire taller than me, Bern?" Olaf asked.

"Sure, Olaf, go find some wood."

Elsa wished she could stay and see if the fire worked for her, but it was better not to try. She was out of control again, and the fire knew that and would withhold its warmth.

Bern packed a shoulder bag with a sack of food, a waterskin, and a folded gray cloak.

"You'll need the cloak more than I will, Bern."

"Take it anyway. I brought that one for you, so you would have something softer than ice in your palace, and a reminder that I'm here," Bern said.

Elsa nodded, slung the bag over her shoulder, and turned to go.

"If you need my help, send up one of your big snowflakes and I'll come get you."

Elsa nodded again. No one could help her; that's why she was leaving. Elsa was done with the struggle to be part of the human race.

~###~

Once she got to the snowline, the magic in her feet skimmed her along quickly. She didn't get tired and she never broke through the top inch of snow. She floated along, leaving barely a footprint in reality anymore, her heart lighter with every step. Bern never should have brought her back to Arendelle last summer. She was going home now, to a place where the Queen of Arendelle couldn't follow her with talk of duty and control.

Elsa was breathless with anticipation by the time she reached her staircase, her ice palace glowing in the afternoon sun above her. She'd never seen it from the outside. For a few minutes, she simply stood and admired it, the way it shimmered in the sunshine, pouring in graceful lines from the spire to the mountainside. Maybe she couldn't paint or embroider, but she had artistry inside her somewhere.

As she started up her staircase, she saw a broken place in the banister and wondered what had happened. She paused and almost repaired it, and then decided that she didn't want to make it look like nothing had happened. Up until then, she'd conveniently forgotten that there were terrible memories here as well, and this broken staircase was the first reminder. Some of her anticipation disappeared. This wasn't just her sanctuary anymore; it was also where she'd nearly killed Anna for the second time in her life, and where she'd been attacked too. Not only by those men from Weselton, either – she remembered the spikes her palace grew, the way the ice darkened and cracked, her fear and despair when she'd realized her palace wouldn't protect her. She unfolded Bern's cloak and swung it around her shoulders before she entered her palace.

The immense doors opened at her touch. The main level was as beautiful as she remembered it, with the snowflake pattern pressed into the floor and the graceful arch of the double staircase. She walked around the fountain, every perfect drop still frozen in place, and breathed in the vastness of this main hall. All the bad memories were up the stairs. There was no reason to go up there.

Elsa created a throne from ice and padded it with snow. Leaving Bern's cloak on the floor, she sat down on the throne and took several deep breaths, wondering when her palace would feel like a sanctuary again. Right now it was just a place; that feeling of safety and freedom she'd expected wasn't here.

She had created this palace to celebrate her real self, free from the secret that had controlled her entire life. Over this past year, the freedom from her secret had soaked through every aspect of her life, dissolved in the honesty of friendship and love. She didn't need a defense and a sanctuary anymore. That feeling of safety was the flip side to the constant fear of her childhood. Without the fear, the safety was gone too.

Truly, she hadn't been safe here. The safety was an illusion, made up of as many lies as her fear. She'd insisted Anna wasn't safe here, but neither was she, isolated and alone in this palace. This palace was her power, divided between beauty and threat, the same division that split her life in two. This main level was beautiful and serene; the upper level hid the fight and torment.

Suddenly Elsa did want to see the upper level. She took Bern's cloak with her. Holding up her brown skirt to keep from tripping, she went up the stairs, starting with the smaller antechamber she'd intended to use as a bedroom. A vase of flowers, sculpted from ice, still stood on a table with an ice mirror. A canopied bed and snowy chair looked exactly as they had when she'd made them a year ago, still frozen and perfect.

Elsa stood at the door and looked at the room that opened onto the balcony. Ice spikes and shields of ice marred the perfect lines of the floor. Her balcony doors were shattered; the ice that had nearly pushed the man from Weselton to his death still blocked the view. The spears that had trapped the other man from Weselton were still embedded in the ice wall. Her chandelier lay in broken chunks across the floor. This room bore testimony to the worst day of her life.

All that broken ice brought back the shock of knowing someone wanted to kill her – how the hatred hurt as badly as the arrows would have. While she'd stopped the arrows, she hadn't been able to stop the hatred. Even now, it made her sick to think they'd wanted to kill her and there was no one to stop them except herself and those terrible powers that had caused the hatred in the first place.

Elsa began to weep. She'd quit on her future; that's why she was here. She'd struggled all year to leave the past in the past and be someone besides the girl who had spent thirteen years behind a closed door, but the truth was the past would always be looming over her present, poisoning it with regret, injustice, fear and isolation. It wasn't the ice and snow that made life intolerable; it was her past she couldn't live with. All those years of her childhood, with Anna knocking on the door. She'd refused to answer her own sister. That could never be undone; the years could never be reclaimed. She would never hear her father say he was sorry. Her mother would never tell her that she loved her, and that it was all right to make it snow. Her parents had never accepted her, and that couldn't change.

She would never spend childhood and youth learning to ride a horse, garden, sew, paint or play with a ball or climb trees. She had no childhood friends, no happy memories that were more than a year old. Always her hands would be unskilled. Always she would struggle harder than anyone else to relate to people. The future couldn't change her past. Getting rid of her magic wouldn't change her past.

Sometimes it seemed the only way to destroy her past was to destroy herself. She thought of it briefly. It would be easy to fall off her balcony, down into the mist in the crevasse. The thought slipped away as quickly as it came. She wouldn't do that to Anna. She never had understood why Anna loved her, but she knew she did. Anna wasn't sad about all those lost years. Bern, Kristoff, even Gerda and the others, accepted her ice and snow. Knowing that helped, but it wasn't enough. They couldn't carry this burden for her.

Elsa slid down to the floor, put her hands over her face and wailed out loud, like a small child. She wished she could start over, wipe her life clean and begin again and get it right this time.

"Can anyone help me? Please help me," Elsa pleaded to no one, breaking under the weight of her past.

The shattered room stood impassive. It could not be undone.

"Oh God, I can't change it, but I can't stand to live with it any longer, and I don't know what to do anymore," Elsa cried, and it became a prayer. As deep honesty often did, Elsa's admission unlocked the key to genuine change.

The ice glowed. The broken chandelier, the shields and spikes littering the floor, the smashed balcony, all the worst things in her life were infused with a numinous Presence. He waited for Elsa to notice He was there.

At first, Elsa thought that it felt like Anna was in the room, or Bern, or Kristoff or Olaf. But it was more than the love she felt from them. They each had hints and pieces of this Presence, but this was the source, the wholeness. She looked around at the glowing ice. It was as if Someone was just out of sight because she could not bear the glory of His presence, and He sent only this feeling to draw her out of herself.

Elsa's past began to unspool. One memory at a time, the past unwound in this Presence that accepted what had happened and drew out the pain and regret, leaving only the memory. It was different than what Pabbie had done to Anna; this created no lies or subterfuge to protect and weaken her. This was truth; and God gave her the strength to bear it. Down through the years He sought and found every pain Elsa had either experienced or inflicted, absorbing the pain and injustice into Himself and leaving only the memory behind.

Then the threads of her past wound back on the spool, all hers again, but with the fear gone, the regrets and injustice taken and absorbed into that mighty, infinite Savior whose work and glory is to heal the brokenhearted and restore hope to the hopeless. And into the places of her soul left empty after the pain was taken, God poured His infinite love and unconditional acceptance, full measure, pressed down and running over. Elsa hurt with the intensity of the joy she felt. Just as she knew she would come apart at the seams as God exceeded her capacity for joy, His presence ebbed away. Gradually and peacefully, it receded until Elsa was herself again, still in that shattered room that was unchanged in its facts, but completely different in its feelings and meaning.

And then three understandings poured into her mind, clear and pure, ringing with the promise of a future so glorious she could barely stand to think of it even as her soul stretched to take on the shape necessary to hold this new and eternal way of thinking that her old soul would have rejected immediately. She wrote them into the floor, tracing the letters into the ice with her finger and repeating them until she had them memorized.

She was exhausted. Dusk leaked through the broken balcony. Elsa crept back to the small chamber, created a snow mattress on the ice bed, wrapped herself in Bern's cloak and slept like a newborn baby.

~###~

Elsa woke the next morning, bubbling with excitement about life in general. Her thoughts flew around for a few minutes, and then finally settled on a fire, specifically, the campfire she knew Bern had going and the surety that it would work for her this morning. She was part of the human race now. She shivered. While she couldn't actually get cold, she missed the sensation of warmth and she knew there was a campfire waiting for her about halfway down the mountain.

Elsa stopped in the shattered room and read what she'd written on the floor, hugging the memory close so that it wouldn't fade in the light of day. Then she went bounding down the stairs. Halfway down the stairs, she ran back up to fetch Bern's cloak. The bag he'd packed for her was still on the main level, and she scooped it up as she ran past on her way out the door and down the staircase that arched over the crevasse. She stopped and fixed the banister on her way down, leaving a ridge to mark where the repair had been made. It had happened after all, and there should be some memory of it remaining even if she healed the damage.

At the base of the stairs, she turned to admire her beautiful palace again. The pink light of sunrise turned it to rose and diamond, sparkling back a reflection that rivaled the sunshine. She was glad she had come. And she was also glad she was leaving.

Elsa fastened the clasp of Bern's cloak around her neck and slung the bag over her shoulder. She aimed a stream of power at the ground and a ribbon of ice unfolded at her feet as she skied down the mountain, adding in a small jump here and there, just for fun. Once she passed the snowline, she kept closer track of her surroundings and found the path to follow. The carriage was pulled off the side of the road and she skied into camp and sent out a flurry of snow spray that spiraled away in the sunrise.

Bern straightened up from where he'd been blowing on the banked fire and adding twigs to get it going again, eyes wide with surprise to see her again so soon and so happy. Olaf was nowhere to be seen.

Elsa stepped off the ice ribbon and waved at it until the entire length of it vanished in blue sparkles, suddenly shy to see him after the way she'd treated him yesterday. After two years of a prim and formal friendship, she'd done nothing but scold him or cry on him these past several days. Oh, and kiss him. That too.

"I wanted to see if the fire worked," Elsa explained. At his questioning look, she said, "A few times now, I've been able to feel the warmth of a fire. I liked it. Something wonderful happened at my ice palace, and I hope it means I can feel a fire now, maybe every time, just like everyone else."

Bern stepped back and gestured for her to take his place next to the small fire. Elsa crouched down and held out her hands. Warmth like sunflower petals pressed back against her palms and joy filled her so full that she had to blink back tears. Bern added more wood to the fire until it crackled merrily and she could stand up and still reach its warmth with her hands. She undid the clasp on his cloak and folded it before draping it over a fallen log and going back to the fire. He stepped around behind her to get out of the smoke.

"I didn't know how long you would be gone, but I'm glad you're back already," he said.

It seemed to her that Bern was as warm as the fire, and so she turned and put her arms around his waist and her head on his shoulder. She'd wanted to tell him everything, but she wasn't sure she could find words for something so transcendent. "My past doesn't hurt anymore, Bern, and I'm glad to be myself." She contented herself with reporting the result.

"I'm glad you are who you are too."

She rubbed her thumb down Bern's throat, and he turned and pressed a kiss into her forehead. Something else came as clear as anything she'd felt yesterday in her palace. "Bern, I can't go home yet. I'm still myself, and I know if I have to go back to the palace and face the Queen of Arendelle and Prince Dominic, I'll get all confused and responsible again and do something foolish like marry Prince Dominic."

"That is a problem. Can I help you prevent that?"

"Yes! The day before yesterday, you said you'd marry me tomorrow, and tomorrow was already yesterday and you haven't married me yet. I'm calling your bluff. Let's elope today. You know the pastor in the village – would he do the ceremony for us? We can't go to the castle church because someone might see us, or Bishop Saholt would try and tell somebody first."

Bern took her by the arms and pushed her out where he could look at her in shock.

"I mean it, Bern. Dominic will tell me Arendelle needs a military, and he'll wave that betrothal agreement at me, and the Queen of Arendelle will bully me into considering him again. I don't want to go through any of that. A marriage certificate trumps a betrothal agreement. You have to marry me today, before anyone else can stop us and say we have to have invitations and a formal dinner and make a huge fuss out of it. Do you know how awful my coronation was? I was sick for months, just knowing it was coming. If I've got to go through another pageant with half the world invited, my wedding day will be just as awful. Marry me and let's run away together. We'll let Rodmund and Gustav fix it all later." Elsa shook Bern by the arms, suddenly worried he'd get practical and responsible.

"Elsa," Bern started, and he did sound like he was going to say something responsible.

Elsa grabbed his head and kissed him. He took her by the waist and pulled her away from him.

"If you try and say something responsible, I'll kiss you again," she threatened him.

Bern blinked. "We must send out invitations."

She kissed him.

"Lots of foreign delegates have to come."

She kissed him again.

"We'll serve broccoli at the reception instead of chocolate."

She kissed him again.

"We can charge admission and put the money in the castle treasury to help the economy."

She giggled. "Did you run out of responsible things to say?"

"That was responsible!"

"Oh, my mistake." She kissed him again.

"I have our wedding rings in my pocket."

She kissed him again.

"You can make your own wedding dress."

She kissed him again.

"I brought a change of clothes."

She kissed him again.

"And then we'll sail away in my sailboat for our honeymoon."

She almost kissed him again and then pulled back. "Wait, are you being responsible or making plans to elope with me today?"

"Kiss me first, and then I'll tell you."

Elsa kissed him again. Bern hung onto her this time, his kiss possessive and passionate.

"I'm going to elope with you today," Bern said when he finally let her go.

Elsa nodded and remembered to breathe. The decision was already made, and she had to stay busy enough to not let herself think, because she had a responsible streak too, and it was not invited to the wedding. "Wait, do you really have wedding rings in your pocket?"

Bern shrugged. "You promised to fall in love with me, so I fetched them when I went home at Christmas time. I've had them with me ever since. They belonged to my grandparents."

"I can't wait to see them, but surprise me at the ceremony. We have too many things to do right now. Where's Olaf?"

"Getting more wood. He wanted a bigger fire."

"Olaf!" Elsa called.

Olaf eventually came running back into the clearing, holding a stack of wood so high he couldn't see over the top. "Elsa! You came back already!"

"Olaf, we have the most wonderful surprise and you have to help us! You need to get to the castle as fast as you can, and tell Anna, Kristoff, Gerda, Rodmund and Gustav to go to Councilor Alan's house in Arendelle Village and wait there for further instructions. You wait with them, because you're part of the surprise too," Elsa said. "Can you do that? Just those people. It's a big secret surprise, so don't let anyone else know."

"Are you complicating things?" Bern asked.

"I'm not leaving Anna out of my life anymore, and if Rodmund and Gustav have to fix it all afterwards, I think it's only fair they get to come," Elsa replied. "And you get to ski all the way to the village, Olaf! Won't that be fun?"

"I love skiing! I love surprises too!"

"Get going!" Elsa said. She aimed her power at Olaf's feet and the ice ribbon started to unfold. Olaf promptly fell over and skidded down the mountain on his belly, whooping and hollering as he went.

"Is that going to get him all the way to the castle?" Bern asked.

"Today, I can do anything. Olaf's already connected to my magic. Let's go, Bern," Elsa urged him.

With Elsa's help, it took Bern about five minutes to clear up camp and throw everything back in the carriage and get the horse hitched up. They shared breakfast on the way down the mountain, Elsa talking with her mouth full about wedding plans, Bern nodding when it seemed appropriate. The trip down went much faster than it had coming up the mountain yesterday. In no time at all, they had reached the place where she'd thrown ice spikes on the side of the road and spooked the horse. They'd melted quite a bit since yesterday afternoon; only a softly rounded lump was left. Elsa watched it as they approached and some of her giddiness evaporated.

"Bern, I might still be a little crazy sometimes," she confessed.

"You know I will as well," he replied, taking her hand.

"Thank goodness," Elsa said with a sigh as she leaned her head against his arm. "Wouldn't it be awful if you were always serene and I was the only one who ever freaked out?"

"Yes, awful. Good thing we don't have to worry about that. Let's take turns, though, shall we? Things might get a bit difficult if we both freak out at the same time."

"That's very practical of you," Elsa complimented him.

"Are you still angry at the injustice of it all?" Bern asked.

"No, it got taken care of," Elsa said, wondering how to ever explain in words the feeling she'd gotten about God's vengeance. God cared about victims, and he had every intention of taking the pain out of the offender's soul at some point. He'd been so angry on her behalf that Elsa had confidently turned the entire matter over to him to collect the debt her father owed.

"That's all you can say?"

She had nearly overturned their carriage and then considered impaling Bern on ice spikes, so perhaps she did owe him more than that. Elsa had the very bad habit of not talking to people if it was at all difficult, but it seemed that was a habit she needed to overcome rather than expecting Bern to learn to live with it.

"He healed me, Bern. I had an encounter with God, and He healed me without changing anything. I always thought He'd have to fix my life and change everything to the way it should have been, but that isn't what happened. He took all the pain, but he left everything exactly the way it is," Elsa began. "And then He told me three very important things."

Bern gave her an inquisitive look as the horse trotted along.

"Well, not in words, actually, more like I understood things but I have to find my own words. Let me think a minute." Elsa paused to remember the key phrases she'd scratched into the floor of her palace. "The first one is that it isn't a mistake I have these powers, and I shouldn't try to undo them or get rid of them. I shouldn't ask the cave trolls to undo the spell because they're evil and I shouldn't ask for help from anything evil."

"So you have to stop wishing your magic was gone? That will be quite a change."

Elsa sighed. "I may still wish it was gone sometimes. It does complicate my life enormously, but I won't seriously try to get rid of my powers now. Please don't say something patronizing about how wonderful it is to be different. No one who is actually different thinks it's wonderful, but if I have to learn to live with it, then I will."

"Then I have nothing to say, except that I like your powers very much, even if you don't."

"What? Why?"

"Because your powers seem to like me, so I'm returning them the compliment," Bern replied.

Elsa thought about it. He'd helped her several times recently with her powers, starting with blowing Captain Dav's ship out of the harbor, right up to ending the storm the night of the dinner. If it wasn't for the way her powers had blown a storm all over the castle when she was planning to marry Dominic, she would probably have announced her official betrothal to him by now. She looked at her hands, and set off a puff of snow that sparkled up and shimmered in the summer sunshine before dissolving.

"Does the Queen of Arendelle like your powers?" Bern asked.

"No," Elsa said, watching more snowflakes sparkle away. "She's very embarrassed by them, and angry she doesn't have better control."

"Do you like your powers?" Bern asked.

Elsa thought about building Olaf, creating the ice palace on the North Mountain, ice-blocking with Kristoff, the snow castles she'd built at Christmas for the children, the rush of joy and power that had frozen the ships from Weselton, and the relief that her storm had fetched Bern the night of the dinner. "You know what? I think maybe I do."

"I'm glad you and I agree, then, even if the Queen of Arendelle holds a different opinion."

Elsa took Bern's hand and started examining his long fingers. "Do you think it's crazy that I talk about myself as two people?"

"No, it makes perfect sense."

"Really?"

"I found another version of myself as well this week," Bern said with a wry smile. "There's my mother's son, and he's something of a sniveling coward. And then there's me, and I think I have more backbone than he does."

Elsa laughed out loud. "Are you both nice?"

"Yes, and we're both in love with you."

"Well, then, that's fine. You know what? The Queen of Arendelle isn't in love with you, Bern. She's the one that wants to marry Prince Dominic."

"Hmm, she's got very poor judgment; I'm so glad you finally stood up to her."

"I didn't stand up to her at all, Bern. I completely fell apart. I'm running away from her right now and I never want to see her again."

"Let's pair her off with my mother's son and banish them both," Bern suggested.

Elsa laughed again and let Bern have his hand back so he could guide the horse around a sharp turn in the trail they were following down the mountain.

"What else did you learn? You said there were three things," Bern reminded her.

"This second one also had to do with acceptance, Bern. It was the idea that if things hadn't gotten as bad as they did, I wouldn't have given up on solving my problems myself and asked for help. If I'd been able to manage, then I would have gone through my life managing things, but not getting help. I used to think that God was only the source of good things, but He sends bad things too, if that's what it takes to get us to ask for His help," Elsa frowned and struggled with words. This idea was an entirely different way of thinking.

"That is a strange idea. Once God gets involved, life ought to be easier though, don't you think?"

"You've read the Bible, Bern. When has anyone had an easier life after God has gotten involved?"

"Oh, you're right, that never happens."

Elsa nodded. "If that pattern holds true, then I'm going to come up against the worst events of my life soon."

"You don't sound very scared by that thought."

"I'm not, which is strange. I think I'll get through it, no matter what it is. Do you know, Bern, my entire life has been dominated by fear. But so many of those old fears are gone now." Fear had dug a pit so deep in her life that any new fear re-opened the abyss and she fell down into the current fear and every fear from the past that hid in the abyss. The abyss erupted with ice and snow as she channeled an overreaction that only made sense if you accepted that she was striking out against every fear she'd ever felt, not just the one presenting itself at the moment. But God had removed all those old fears and filled in the abyss in her heart with His love. This is what it felt like to be normal. Elsa felt like she would be able to deal with any situation that arose, without the chains of every past situation making it heavier.

"I'll do what I can to help you," Bern offered.

Elsa wrapped her hands around his arm, laid her head on his shoulder, and sighed happily. "I know you will."

Their carriage reached the Albion Basin, which was still full of summer, birdsong, green trees, and the lake reflecting back the mountains. A rabbit darted across the road, and wildflowers bent gently in the breeze. Elsa was supremely happy that she wasn't spending her life in the eternal winter of the North Mountain.

"And the third thing?" Bern asked.

"God promised something so marvelous that I don't even know how to describe it. It's a talisman of healing of some sort, and it will be in my life because of my powers, not in spite of them. It felt like I would be so happy about this talisman that it would help me accept my powers and everything about my life, because they drew this talisman to me. It's like the phrase in the Bible that says 'mourning will be turned into joy.' The joy isn't separate from the mourning, it flows out of it," Elsa said. "I don't know what it is, but it's going to be wonderful."

"I'll help you look for it, queen of mine," Bern promised, putting an arm around her waist and hugging her to him.

"I know you will," Elsa said with another happy sigh. "Let's go get married, shall we?"

"Yes, let's."


	15. Chapter 15 - Wedding

**Chapter 15 – Wedding**

Elsa waited in the last pew in the village church with the hood of her traveling cloak pulled over her hair while Bern talked with Pastor Thomas in his office about performing a wedding this afternoon. Her insides were full of flutters and she had to keep reminding her responsible streak that it wasn't wanted right now.

At last Bern and Pastor Thomas approached. Pastor Thomas was a soft-spoken man in his late thirties, thick through the middle, with blonde hair that brushed the edge of his clerical collar. She stood, hood still hiding her face and hair.

"Pastor Thomas wanted to meet my bride and make sure you were of age," Bern said to her. "Pastor Thomas, may I present my bride, Queen Elsa of Arendelle."

Elsa pulled the hood back and said hello.

Pastor Thomas' eyebrows climbed to his hairline and he said, "You might have mentioned that earlier, Lord Bern."

Bern shrugged and gave Elsa a sly smile. She got the impression that he'd enjoyed that.

"Your Majesty, it is my honor to meet you," the pastor said. "I suppose if anyone in the kingdom has the authority to dispense with reading the banns, it would be you. And knowing who you are also clears up several questions I had about the secrecy and hurry." Pastor Thomas took a deep breath as if he wanted to say something, and then let it out without saying anything. "Never mind. The political difficulties of what you want to do must already be apparent to you. As a pastor, my concern is that you are of age, and that you enter into this marriage freely."

"Yes to both questions," Elsa replied. "And we are aware of the political issues, which is part of the reason for the secrecy and hurry."

"Yes, I've heard of Prince Dominic," the pastor agreed.

"You have?" Elsa asked.

"Part of being a cleric is to listen, your Majesty. Most of Arendelle knows Prince Dominic came to court you."

Elsa wondered if she should be ashamed of herself.

"Your Majesty, please pardon the expression of a personal opinion, but I also heard about the storm that occurred during a dinner a couple of days ago, and I would much rather see you married to the man who stopped the storm instead of the man who started it," Pastor Thomas said.

Elsa had not thought that the citizens of Arendelle would approve of her marriage to Bern. In her mind, all the advantage to Arendelle came from a marriage to Prince Dominic and his military.

"I need to change into my robes, and then we can get started," Pastor Thomas said.

"Father, may I trouble you for pen, ink and paper?" Elsa asked. "And I need somewhere to change into my wedding dress. Also, we have a few guests who will be coming as soon as we send a message to them."

"I need a place to clean up and change as well," Bern added.

"Let me gather up my children for messages and errands, your Majesty," Pastor Thomas replied.

He returned in a few minutes with a woman he introduced as his wife, Lia. Lia looked at Elsa in astonishment, and then recovered enough to curtsy and say it was an honor to meet her.

"Please forgive the imposition," Elsa said.

"Not at all. You will please make yourself to home, such as it is," Lia replied. She was as plump as her husband, with sandy blonde hair in braids and bits of pastry dough still clinging to her fingers. She turned to give instructions to the six children crowding around her. The oldest son darted off to fetch the group of people at Councilor Alan's house. The next son led Bern away. One daughter was sent to ready the chapel; a second daughter went for pen and paper; a third daughter ran to find the organist. The youngest son sucked his thumb and cried at being left out until his mother gave him a task as well – he was to open the door for people.

"This way, your Majesty," Lia said, leading Elsa towards a room off the narthex.

The little boy preceded them and proudly opened the door. Elsa thanked him as she entered. The daughter arrived with pen, ink and paper, and with a curtsy requested another task.

"Flowers," her mother suggested, and she ran off. "I'll leave you in privacy, your Majesty."

Elsa thanked her and calmed the flutters again, bending over the table to write.

~###~

"But it's a surprise for me too," Olaf insisted, "so I can't tell you what it is."

Gustav tried again. "We're surprised already, Olaf. This would be a good time to find out what the surprise is about."

"I don't know. I keep telling you it's a surprise for me too," Olaf said.

"You don't know why Elsa wanted us to all come to Councilor Alan's house?" Kristoff asked him. There were six of them from the castle: himself, Anna, Gerda, Rodmund and Gustav who brought his wife, Adele, even though she was not part of the original invitation. Councilor Alan and Lady Charlotte were already at home with their children who were anxiously hoping they would not be left out of the surprise.

"Nope! Elsa just said to bring you all here," Olaf explained patiently for the tenth time.

"Of course you can come," Charlotte promised her youngest daughter, Tilly, who was the most concerned that the surprise wouldn't be for them too.

"Do you know where we're going?" Olaf asked.

"No," Charlotte replied.

"Oh," Olaf said, "I thought maybe Elsa told you."

Erik, one of Alan's teenage sons, went outside to sit on the front step. Kristoff followed him because the parlor was so crowded he couldn't sit down or get his breath. He was as curious as anyone to find out what Elsa was doing. Anna had been crushed that she hadn't been able to go with Elsa to the North Mountain, even though she knew why she had to stay behind. Kristoff had stayed close to cheer her up, and also to make sure she didn't take off after Elsa.

Kristoff had invited himself to the meeting with the delegation from Easthaven that morning, for Anna's sake. It was supposed to be about the warships, but Prince Dominic took the chance to ask to see Elsa about twenty times, and hadn't been happy to get twenty refusals. Then Sir Lester had made unpleasant suggestions that Bern was running away from the duel when Kristoff said it would have to be rescheduled. Kristoff was done with politics. He wanted to hit someone or climb a mountain.

Rodmund joined them as well. "Kristoff, what did Lieutenant Moyes say when you relayed the order to keep news of this 'surprise' from the Easthaven delegates?"

"He said he'd take care of it. Major Felix has had sour words with Captain Torvin, and I don't think they like each other anymore. Lieutenant Moyes didn't think anyone would want to tell the people from Easthaven what was going on anyway," Kristoff said.

Rodmund nodded. "I'm not sure how long we can keep news of Queen Elsa's current difficulties from Prince Dominic, but we must make the effort to buy her more time."

"Yeah," Kristoff chuckled at the memory of Gustav backpedaling on every claim he'd ever made about Elsa having control of her powers at the meeting that morning. Instead, he was now claiming that Elsa took days and days to recover after an unexpected storm and Prince Dominic should not expect her to be able to receive visitors until next week at the earliest. Gustav then managed to blame the entire situation on Prince Dominic and suggested that the only gentlemanly thing he could do was to keep his distance.

"As Bern's second for this duel, have you gotten the sense from Sir Lester that Prince Dominic may be satisfied with an apology instead?" Rodmund asked.

"No, the opposite, actually. Prince Dominic is out for blood. Sir Lester says he's never lost a duel," Kristoff replied. He was worried about that on Bern's behalf. A few hurried lessons in swordplay weren't going to get Bern to the point where he could defend himself, much less win the duel. He also had the impression that the reason Prince Dominic was so bloodthirsty was because he knew Elsa loved Bern. Killing Bern would be a strange attempt to win Elsa's heart.

Rodmund nodded pensively.

"Hey, sir, Anna's been telling me what they found in those letters from the Duke of Weselton to Bern's mother," Kristoff began.

"Keep that to yourself a while longer, Kristoff," Rodmund interrupted him with a glance towards Erik, who was obviously listening to the conversation.

"Yes, sir," Kristoff replied.

A teenage boy was jogging towards them down the street, dodging a horse-drawn cart and skipping around ladies with full skirts who looked at him sternly for his hurry.

"Trent!" Erik shouted in greeting as he waved at him. Trent ran into his friend with a whoop and they tussled until Erik tripped Trent, pushing him down to the ground and then helping him back to his feet.

"Queen Elsa respectfully requests you come to my father's church," Trent said, gasping with embarrassment when he saw that others had witnessed their horseplay. "The whole lot of you, I mean."

Rodmund stepped inside to relay the invitation.

"To the church? Did she say why?" Kristoff asked.

"I don't know why, she just said to come," Trent replied. Then he did a doubletake. "Wow! You're Kristoff, aren't you?"

Kristoff agreed he was Kristoff.

"This is the best day ever! The queen is at my dad's church, and now I met you!" Trent said.

"Wait until you see who else is in my house," Erik bragged.

"Did we miss the surprise?" Don, Alan's other teenage son, was trotting up the street, followed by their oldest brother, Zander, and his fiancé, Tyra, who was carrying a big basket of flowers, everything she hadn't sold yet today when Zander came to get her for the surprise.

"We're going to the church!" Erik shouted back.

Tyra waved happily at Kristoff, and he went down to meet Zander with a handshake and Tyra with a hug. Tyra sold flowers in the marketplace, and had been his friend for years. He'd seen a lot of her these past few months, since she was planning a wedding too. Anna had worn out Elsa with wedding plans, but Anna and Tyra could talk non-stop for hours about weddings. Kristoff and Zander had spent time together as well, needing some time with tools while their fiancés talked about fabric and flowers.

In response to Rodmund's announcement, the group spilled out of the house to go to the church. Tyra brought her flower basket and linked her other arm through Anna's as they made a procession through the street. Several other youths and even some adults with nothing better to do followed along to find out what the fuss was about.

At the door of the church, the pastor's wife greeted them and directed the group, both invited and uninvited, into the chapel. A daughter swooped down on Tyra and her basket of flowers and rushed her off. The pastor's wife plucked Anna and Kristoff out of the crowd. "Your Highness, Guardsman Kristoff, if you would be so kind as to follow my children, they'll take you where you need to go," she said. With a confused nod, Anna followed a daughter as Kristoff went the other way after another son.

The boy led him along a narrow hallway and pointed at a door. "In there, sir." Then he ran off.

Kristoff knocked and entered. Bern was rinsing off his razor and packing it away again.

"What's going on, Bern?" Kristoff demanded.

"Elsa and I are eloping and running away," Bern said with a cheerful grin.

Kristoff burst out with an untrue accusation about Bern's parentage.

Bern gave him a disapproving look. "I hope you don't use that sort of language around Anna."

"You better have more to say than that!"

"Sure I do. You're best man; don't lose the rings," Bern said, tossing him a small bag.

~###~

Elsa was blowing on the ink to dry it when she heard Lia's daughter saying outside the door, "She's in here, your Highness."

Lia's youngest son got the door for Anna.

"Elsa, is everything all right?" Anna asked as she came in.

Elsa hugged Anna tightly. "Better than all right. Anna, things went so well on the North Mountain, and I'm marrying Bern right now. Can you help me with my hair? I haven't brushed it since yesterday."

"Wait, what?"

"I should change into my wedding gown first. Just a minute."

Elsa ducked into the corner by a tall cabinet and unlaced her dress. When she made an ice queen dress, whatever she was wearing disappeared, and she needed to be able to change back into this dress after the ceremony. She folded it into a tidy pile, then flickered her fingers at herself. The gown poured onto her body, white instead of blue, sparkling with ice diamonds and wrapping snugly around her figure with a slit up the side. Elsa left the train off this time. She traced a shape in the air and created a tiara out of ice, and then the gossamer train of her ice queen gown flowed out from the tiara in three layers of a veil decorated with snowflakes.

"Does it look all right? Let's get my hair brushed, and then I'll put on the tiara."

Anna came to stare at her. "The last time I saw you, you weren't doing so well."

"Anna, I know this seems crazy, but I'm so happy I can hardly stand it! I'll tell you everything when we get back from our honeymoon." Elsa dug a hairbrush out of the bag she'd brought in from the carriage and started unraveling her braid.

Anna took the brush from her and started brushing her hair. "After this, no one will ever be able to accuse me of being impulsive ever again! You win the contest!"

"Were we having a contest?"

"Haven't you noticed Gustav thinks Kristoff and I have totally ruined foreign policy? Sometimes I feel guilty about that, but nothing we do will ever match this!" Anna announced, dividing Elsa's hair into three sections and starting a braid.

"You don't think Prince Dominic will just go away quietly?" Elsa said, nervous now that her responsible streak had stuck its unwelcome head back into the room.

Anna took a breath as if she was going to say something, then let it out. On her second try, she said, "Why don't you and Bern stay away for as long as you can, and I'm sure Prince Dominic will be gone by the time you get back. Doesn't Bern have a sailboat? You're leaving, right?"

"If you want us to," Elsa said.

"Yes. I love you, and I want you to leave. Get as far away from Arendelle as you can. Don't worry about anything here because we can take care of it. Run away and stay gone, all right, Elsa?" Anna said.

"You sound worried, Anna."

Anna laughed. "I'm not worried a bit! Not one bit! I just think you've never had a vacation in your whole entire life, and you and Bern should take a nice, long one. Everyone deserves a vacation, especially you! And I am so thrilled you're marrying Bern right now! Kristoff is going to be so jealous because Bern didn't have to sit through eight months of wedding plans, and I'm sure he'll whine about eloping for the next two months until our wedding. Come back before our wedding, all right? Not much before, but of course you have to be there!"

Anna chattered on, not letting Elsa get in another word, until she'd tied off the braid. "Now, let's see, you need a bouquet of flowers. Lucky for you Tyra brought a whole basketful so I'll just run along and find Tyra. I bet Olaf and Tilly are squabbling over who gets to be the flower girl. Will you be all right for a minute?"

"Could you ask Rodmund to come in?" Elsa asked. She took her ice tiara and settled it onto her head, the veil floating around her shoulders.

"I'll send him with the bouquet!" Anna said. "See you at the front of the church!" She almost left, then came back and nearly smothered Elsa in a hug. "I love you so much, and I am so happy for you right now!"

Elsa's responsible streak was gone again. She shed a couple of happy tears as she hugged Anna back, and then Anna left.

Elsa fidgeted with her veil until someone tapped on the door and Lia's little boy opened it. Rodmund was holding an arrangement of sunflowers, with a spray of violets tucked into it for contrast, framed by leaves and white ladybells. Elsa thought the universe had conspired to create the most perfect wedding bouquet imaginable before remembering that sunflowers were Tyra's bestselling flower arrangement now that Arendelle knew they were the queen's favorite. Of course Tyra had her favorite bouquet ready for her; she sold dozens of them every week.

"Your Majesty?" Rodmund asked. Apparently Anna had not told him what was happening, but had just given him the flowers and sent him in.

Suddenly shy, Elsa took a second to gather her thoughts. "Rodmund, would you call me Elsa from now on? Other than at formal occasions, of course."

"Yes, Elsa," Rodmund said, with enough respect that her name still sounded formal.

"I'm, well," Elsa stammered, standing there in a wedding dress and veil and hoping he could figure it out without much explanation. "I have a wedding gift for you," she said at last.

She took the bouquet from him, and handed him the paper she'd written and rolled into a scroll. "This is a full pardon for both you and Gustav, along with an affirmation of my complete confidence in you and an offer to confirm any decision you may make in my absence. Of course, Anna will be in charge, but I wanted it clear to everyone that all my remaining councilors have my approval while I'm gone. Bern's coming with me, since it's my honeymoon and he's the groom and all that," she finished awkwardly.

"Honeymoon?" Rodmund asked, a smile beginning as he tucked the scroll into his pocket.

Elsa nodded. "Would you walk me down the aisle?"

"It would be the greatest honor of my life."

The layers of Elsa's veil tangled as she tried to pull the veil over her face, and Rodmund straightened them out for her. Her veil floated down over her face, brushing her bare shoulders and falling to the floor in the back. She took her bouquet in one hand, and with the other took Rodmund's arm. He got the door for her and led her through the narthex to the back of the chapel.

When the organist caught sight of them, she began playing the wedding march. Elsa glanced around the room. Anna was already at the front of the chapel, trying to hold still, but every so often a bounce overflowed anyway. Pastor Anders was in his clerical robes and collar. Bern was nowhere to be seen. Elsa had never been to a wedding before, but she thought the groom should be in place before the bride came in.

The people in the pews were turning, and the room was filling with murmurs. Both Tilly and Olaf were strewing flower petals in the aisle. Elsa found Gustav in the crowd. He looked puzzled, brow creased as he tried to decide what was happening.

Elsa and Rodmund began slowly pacing down the aisle. They were about halfway to the front of the chapel when a side door opened and Bern and Kristoff ran in and dashed up the steps to take their places. Bern straightened his tie and tugged his plain, gray jacket nervously while Kristoff exchanged looks with Anna.

There. Gustav had recognized Bern, and now he turned back and figured out who was under the veil and why the wedding march was playing. Elsa smiled. The look on Gustav's face was going to be one of her favorite memories of her wedding. She hadn't ever seen horrified and overjoyed juxtaposed quite like that before.

Rodmund escorted her up the steps and gave her hand to Bern. Elsa turned and handed her bouquet to Anna, who was streaming tears down her smiling cheeks.

Elsa let the words of the wedding ceremony roll over her, her hands clutching Bern's, watching him through her veil. He looked stunned, more than anything, and Elsa smothered giggles.

Pastor Anders barely paused as he invited any who might object to speak now or forever hold their peace, and went right into the promises. Then she was saying "I do" and listening to Bern say the same thing. He turned and got the rings from Kristoff, and slid a ring onto her finger. Elsa couldn't see it clearly through her veil, but it was the most beautiful ring in the world anyway. She put Bern's ring on his finger, and then Pastor Anders pronounced them husband and wife. Bern lifted her veil and kissed her and she very nearly came apart with joy.

He was still kissing her when she felt Anna pulling on her waist and saying, "That's enough! The rest of us get to hug her too, you know! You get her back soon enough!" Elsa laughed and turned into Anna's embrace, and then Kristoff hugged her, lifting her off her feet and spinning her around. She caught sight of Anna kissing Bern on the cheek, and then everyone from the congregation was crowding around them.

"Pastor, I want four copies of the marriage certificate," Gustav said after he'd collected his hug and his handshake.

"Let's get them packed for a month, Gerda," Lady Charlotte said.

"Yes, my Lady. We'll meet you at the docks, Elsa," Gerda said, with another quick hug before they dashed back to the castle.

Anna was hanging onto her and crying while she declared this was the happiest day of her life. Lady Adele formed the rest of the children and adults in the congregation into a line as they all came up to congratulate Elsa. Bern had gotten pulled aside by several men, and so Elsa accepted congratulations alone and wondered when she would get her husband back.

~###~

In a regular wedding, the newlyweds would run from the church in a shower of rice, but this wasn't a regular wedding, and so they got mobbed in the chapel sanctuary instead. Anna pulled Elsa away from him, and Bern was suddenly surrounded by men who were all talking to him at once.

"Get as far away as you can and stay there, Bern," Rodmund was saying. "We don't want you back for at least a month, two if you can manage it."

"I'll talk to people here about not spreading the news of what they've seen for as long as possible," Alan went on. "The longer we can keep this from Prince Dominic, the better."

"I already told Sir Lester we were postponing the duel, and based on what we've found in those letters, Prince Dominic owes you an apology and not the other way around," Kristoff said.

"What did you find in the letters?" Bern managed to ask by interrupting everyone else.

"It isn't important right now, just get the queen away from Arendelle," Rodmund said, shooting a warning glance at Kristoff.

"Bern, the marriage can be annulled any time before it's consummated," Gustav said.

"I can take care of that without advice, Gustav," Bern replied.

Kristoff snorted with laughter and Bern punched him in the shoulder.

"Take a copy of the marriage certificate and keep it safe," Gustav went on, unabashed, "we'll have one published at the church next week. That should give you enough time."

"Gustav!" Bern exclaimed in exasperation.

Kristoff was doubling over in laughter.

"Laugh all you want, Kristoff, you've got two months to go," Bern said, giving up on getting Gustav to shut up. This time Kristoff hit him.

"Gentlemen! Is the conversation over?" Elsa asked.

"All the useful parts are, my wife. Let's get out of here," Bern said, walking away from Kristoff, who was still laughing, and Gustav, who looked like he had more to say.

"One more thing," Rodmund said, before he could get away.

Bern turned around.

"It will be an honor to serve you, your Royal Highness," Rodmund said to him with a bow.

Gustav and Alan also bowed low. "Congratulations, your Highness."

A little bit stunned, Bern took a few seconds to gather his wits and say thank you.

Elsa put her arms around him and added, "My very own Prince Consort of Arendelle."

Bern swallowed hard.

Kristoff grabbed him around the shoulders and shook him. "Don't worry about it, Bern, I promise to never call you 'sir' or anything like that."

"Thank goodness for that," Bern said drily.

"Let's get you two out of here," Rodmund said.

"Your Majesty, are you planning to walk through the streets in a wedding dress?" Gustav asked.

"Let me get changed. I'll meet you at the chapel doors," Elsa said, and took Anna with her.

~###~

Kristoff stood at the edge of the excited crowd by the church doors, listening to people still exclaiming in surprise about what had just happened. Elsa was generally so quiet that no one ever saw anything coming, like the stunts she kept pulling during the Battle of Arendelle last fall, or the storm at her coronation. Elsa had only two settings: predictably boring, and completely out of control. Anna was transparent enough that he could tell what she was thinking and what might go wrong; Elsa didn't give any of those helpful warnings before she went haring off on an adventure that made Anna look positively sedate. He hoped Bern knew what he was getting himself into; though he'd loved Elsa so long it probably didn't matter, he would just deal with whatever happened and be deliriously happy that Elsa wasn't keeping him at a distance anymore.

"Sir, can I ask you about something?" Kristoff asked Rodmund when a lull slowed the conversation he was having with Gustav and Alan.

"Certainly."

Kristoff stepped away from the crowd, since Rodmund had silenced him twice on this issue already. "Why don't you want to tell them what you've pieced together from the letters? Shouldn't they know?"

"Yes, they should know, the only question is the timing," Rodmund said.

"Sir, not to tell you your business or anything, but Elsa got upset with you for keeping secrets for her protection before, which is why Gustav gave her those letters from the Duke of Weselton to her father as soon as she asked for them," Kristoff reminded him.

"And that turned out badly, didn't it?" Rodmund said, then he sighed. "The problem we have is that there isn't any option that is clearly the best. If we tell the queen what we've found in the letters, she might insist on staying here to confront Prince Dominic. I believe she'll be safer if she's gone. I would tell her what we've found if she agreed to leave anyway, but I'm not sure she'll agree."

"You don't trust her, do you?" Kristoff asked.

Rodmund was silent for a minute. "She's not quite twenty-two years old, Kristoff, and she thinks she can handle more than I think she can handle. It isn't about trust as much as it's about experience and judgment."

Kristoff nodded. He understood that to an extent, but he supposed his own judgment was swayed by the fact that he was close to Elsa's age, and he wouldn't want Rodmund keeping secrets from him. He thought of a compromise. "What if I tell Bern, and he tells Elsa in a few days? It's his sailboat; Elsa can't get back here on her own."

Rodmund's eyebrows went up and he considered it. "And then Bern catches it for keeping secrets from her instead of us. Very good idea."

"That wasn't exactly my angle, sir," Kristoff said.

"Regardless, it is a good idea." Rodmund turned to look at where Bern was in the middle of the crowd, with six people talking to him at once.

The church doors finally opened and Elsa came out, dressed in her plain brown traveling dress, with matching cloak, carrying a bag. Anna followed her, holding Elsa's bouquet, which she waved at Kristoff.

"Look! Elsa threw me her bouquet!" Anna announced.

Bern took Elsa's hand and hurried her down the stairs. Kristoff followed them, wondering how he was going to get Bern away from Elsa long enough to talk to him.

They made a procession through the village streets, but Rodmund stopped them as they reached the marketplace. "Let's not give Prince Dominic a reason to come out and see what the fuss is about. Your Majesty, please pull up your hood. Only a few of you at a time as we cross the causeway and get to the docks, slowly now, let's not draw attention."

Kristoff ended up in the second group with Councilor Alan and his family; Anna wormed her way into the first group, arms linked with Elsa. By the time he reached the westernmost dock where Bern's sloop-rigged sailboat was moored, Bern and Elsa were already onboard, with Gerda and the others still handing down baskets and chests until Bern started loudly wondering where everything was going to go.

Kristoff grabbed a basket and maneuvered down the rope ladder, jumping to the deck of the boat from three rungs up. He set the basket down.

"You can't put it there, Kristoff," Bern said with some exasperation. "I don't know where you could possibly put it, but right there isn't an option."

Kristoff left it there and took Bern by the arm and pushed him backwards and away from Elsa, staggering a bit when the swell heaved the boat under their feet. "Listen for a minute."

"I don't need any more advice," Bern said.

"It's about Prince Dominic, and what nobody has told either one of you yet. You know those letters from the Duke of Weselton to your mother? You were right – they mention Prince Dominic. Anna read them and she told me. Prince Dominic was either responsible for Weselton's attack on Arendelle, or he just knew about it, but either way, he was involved. And it has something to do with Elsa, but the letters didn't say what," Kristoff said, not giving Bern a chance to interrupt him until he'd said everything he knew. "Rodmund doesn't want Elsa to know because she might insist on staying here to confront Prince Dominic. Get her out of here and let us deal with him."

Bern stared at him in shock. "Prince Dominic is complicit with Weselton?"

"Yeah, and he's still planning on killing you in a duel. You two just stay gone as long as you can, understand?"

"What does my mother have to do with all this?"

"I don't know. We don't have the letters she wrote to the Duke, but she obviously knows something."

"Elsa doesn't know any of this?"

"You tell Elsa when you want to, but nobody thinks it's a good idea for her to try to talk to Prince Dominic about it," Kristoff replied.

Bern glanced over to where Elsa was pulling a chest down the short ladder to the boat's single cabin. "Given that storm she set off when Prince Dominic did nothing more than try and dance with her, I'm going to agree with you. Arendelle doesn't need another summer freeze. I'll do what I can. If the fjord freezes, you'll know it didn't go well."

"We're hoping Prince Dominic sails away within the week, and he doesn't need to spot your sailboat on his way out of the fjord. How far away can you get?" Kristoff asked.

"It's just a sailboat, Kristoff. It wouldn't survive the North Sea very long. We'll have to stay in the fjord, but I know some islands and coves where we can hide the sailboat and stay out of sight," Bern said.

"Do that," Kristoff said with a nod. "I'll get out of here and let you get underway. And Bern, congratulations, and I mean that."

"Thanks, Kristoff. Take care of Anna and Arendelle. We'll see you in a month or two."

Kristoff climbed back up the ladder, relieved to get back to a place where the ground didn't move under his feet.

Bern finally insisted that they couldn't take any more cargo, and a dockworker cast off the mooring lines. Elsa stood in the stern, waving, while Bern unfurled the sail and pulled it taut. He swung the boom and caught the breeze, quartering to get the boat out of the harbor.

"Elsa! Come here and get your first sailing lesson!" Bern called out.

Kristoff put an arm around Anna and they watched Bern show Elsa which rope to hold and how to brace the boom. She turned to wave one last time at Anna, and nearly got yanked off her feet when the wind gusted.

"Well, they might have an interesting trip," Rodmund observed.


	16. Chapter 16 - Honeymoon

**As a wedding present, I gave Bern and Elsa a chapter off from plot development. There's only character and relationship development in this chapter. The plot comes back in the next chapter.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 16 – Honeymoon**

Bern didn't dare leave the tiller once they were out of the harbor and into open water. They were hugging the shoreline, and the wind was gusty instead of steady. With the sail fastened, he had to use the tiller to compensate for the gusts, or to maneuver them around the uneven shoreline. Elsa flitted around the boat, looking at everything and calling out questions about what things were and how they were used.

"Elsa, if you can stay in one place, the boat will balance better," Bern said. "The windward side is best, over there."

"All right," Elsa agreed. She managed to hold still for about ten minutes before she needed to follow a halyard from the mast to see where it attached to the rigging and ask about how it pulled on the wood like that.

"It's called a boom, Elsa," Bern said.

Bern was rapidly decreasing his estimate about how far they could go. A sailboat needed at least two people to sail it very far, and Elsa wasn't going to learn anything useful in the next twenty minutes. He'd give her more lessons tomorrow while the boat was anchored and they could try again. Besides, while summer days in Norway were abnormally long, this one was finally drawing to a close and he needed to find them a beach before night fell.

They passed the ships from Weselton without incident, Elsa peering at them from under her hood. The ice sunflowers between the ships were mostly melted now, with just jagged spikes jutting up from the iceberg that still bound the ships together. There were sailors on the iceberg; they could walk from ship to ship easily. Two of the ships had erected masts again. Bern could see furled sailcloth on one of them; the other had only empty yards.

Once the ships from Weselton had fallen far astern, Bern lashed the tiller and got up to change the angle of the sail to better catch the wind. Elsa watched inquisitively as he adjusted the boom and tied it off again.

"Where did you learn all this?"

"I've been sailing since I was twelve with my father. The officers of my father's ships were willing to answer long lists of questions from their employer's son, and humor me when I wanted to help," Bern said. Ships were freedom to Bern; he'd sailed away from his mother and learned everything he could about the process in defiance of her wishes to keep him safe and close. The slap of waves on the hull and the mist of the salt spray always gave him the feeling of running away. He restrained himself from ordering Elsa back onto the boat when she leaned over the gunwale to trail her hand in the spray, though he breathed a lot easier once she wasn't hanging over the side anymore.

They were making about five knots now, and the island where he wanted to land was already in sight. Bern loosened the sheetlines and spilled wind from the sails to slow their progress so he could maneuver them between the island and the shore. Kristoff's warning about staying out of sight was foremost in his mind. While there was nothing he could do about the height of the mast, he could sail the boat into the narrow inlet he knew was on the leeward side of this small island, behind a rocky outcropping.

He sat Elsa down next to him at the tiller so she wouldn't get hit by the boom as he steered them shoreward, then brought them hard to starboard and into the inlet. The boat coasted, the sails flapping loosely in the wind. When it had almost coasted to a stop, Bern kicked off his boots, leaped over the side and grabbed the bow line, pulling it in until the keel caught the sandy bottom. He set the bow anchor and two stern anchors, told Elsa he needed a minute to check the tide chart, and then came back and shoved the boat further back into the water. They were close to high tide, and he didn't want the boat entirely beached at low tide.

"Choose a few things you want to take to shore, and I'll carry you so you don't get wet," Bern told her, standing in waist deep water. It took him three trips to get Elsa, a couple baskets, and a huge pile of blankets to shore. The exercise warmed him so much he didn't mind that the breeze off the water turned cool. The North Sea fjords were never warm, even in the summer.

"I should be doing that, Bern. I'm the one who doesn't get cold," Elsa told him on his last trip to shore.

"I'm fine. Let's find a place out of the wind and I'll build us a fire," Bern replied.

A five minute walk brought them to a niche blocked on two sides by rocks, and surrounded by a thick stand of beach grass taller than Bern on the third side. The open side faced east, towards the shoreline of Arendelle.

Bern gathered driftwood and started a fire as Elsa spread out blankets on the sand and unpacked bread, cheese, sausages and jars of fruit from a basket. Bern sat back on his heels, adding a stick to the fire every few minutes and wondering what it was about a fire crackling under an open sky that was so hypnotically relaxing. Waves crashed rhythmically against the shore, turning gray as the light dimmed. The sun would set behind them, but there were clouds on the eastern horizon that promised the reflected glory of the sunset.

Elsa was kneeling on the blanket, unwrapping food. She found a knife and started to slice bread. The sausages were already cut, and there was jam for the bread and a pot of soft, spreadable cheese. She went back to the basket and brought out plates, forks, and cups. "Look! They remembered champagne, Bern," Elsa said.

Her braid had mostly come undone; her dress laced up the front; and she'd taken off her slippers because they kept filling with sand. He was mesmerized with watching her, and it took him a few seconds to realize she'd spoken and he ought to know what she'd said.

"Excuse me?"

"Champagne," Elsa repeated, holding up the bottle.

"The sea air has already intoxicated me," Bern replied, although he didn't think the sea air had much to do with what he was feeling right now.

"Come enjoy our wedding feast, my husband." Elsa smiled at him, and Bern was as dizzy as he'd ever been after drinking champagne.

He added another branch to the crackling fire and joined her on the blanket. They ate off one plate, using their fingers and laughing even if nothing was funny. They poured champagne into tin cups and toasted each other. Her presence set fire to him, and he kept reaching out to touch her hair, her shoulder, to hand her something so his fingers could brush hers, reassuring himself that she was really here and this was really happening. Three days ago, he was sure their relationship was over, and now she was his wife, sharing strawberries with him while the sunset lit the clouds on fire and the waves broke against the sandy shore only a few yards away.

When they'd had as much as they wanted to eat, Bern set the food back in the basket while Elsa put branches on the fire. "It works, Bern! The fire works! I can feel the warmth!" She kept adding wood, warming her hands, pulling away when it got too hot, and then dodging the smoke. Olaf had that same fascination with fire, melting his face as a game. They both reminded him of moths with flame; the pull so intense that the risks didn't matter.

He unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off. "Come watch the fire with me, Elsa," he invited her. Bern drew up his knees and Elsa came to sit between them, leaning back against his chest. He looped his arms around his knees, holding his other hand loosely so that Elsa was within his embrace without him actually holding her.

She turned and rubbed a hand through the hair on his chest and he tingled with anticipation.

"You know, I always wanted a dog, but I was afraid to pet one because I might freeze it," she said.

"Elsa!" That was not exactly where his thoughts had been going just now.

"Is that normal, Bern?" she asked him, both hands running over his chest.

"Worrying you'll freeze a dog? No, that's not normal for anyone except you," he told her.

"No, I meant how much hair you have here," she said, patting his chest.

He groaned and put his head in his hand. "I haven't exactly studied that question, Elsa."

She switched to his head and started rubbing her fingers through his close-cropped curls. "Did you ever have a dog? Was it this color?"

"Elsa!"

"It's just that I've never been able to pet a dog," Elsa explained.

"You realize you still haven't been able to pet a dog?"

"This is close enough," Elsa replied, going back to his chest.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Elsa! I'm going to put my shirt back on."

She tugged him back when he tried to reach for his shirt. "Come back! I like it. Don't put your shirt back on."

He leaned his head against his hand and watched her. She was silly, and that wasn't exactly the mood he'd been hoping to create with the fire, the beach, and the sunset on their wedding night.

She pressed her cheek against his shoulder and put her arms all the way around him. "It's just that I'm nervous."

Better that she be silly than scared, he supposed. At least he wasn't sitting in a blizzard right now. He put his hand on her back and ran it all the way down her spine. She was wearing a corset. "I am too, if that helps any. Is it all right to kiss you? I'll stop if the ocean freezes. I'll go as slowly as you want tonight, queen of mine." Bern bent his face to the back of her neck and pressed his lips against her. She tasted of sun and the salt spray.

She shifted inside the circle of his arms, ran her fingers into his hair again and pulled his head to hers. Her lips tasted even better. He started slowly, kisses reminiscent of the cheerful kisses they'd shared on the North Mountain. As she relaxed against him he poured a little more passion into the kiss, waiting for her to respond to him. Finally, she fell back against his arm and opened her lips. He kissed her deeply, soft and coaxing, while his hand began to gently run from the high neckline of her dress down to the line of her corset. She shivered and took his hand away. He pulled his hand out of her light grasp and went back to her neck, stroking her soft skin, fingering her chin while his mouth explored hers.

Elsa was leaning back, and he drew away from her lips, letting her fall away from him so he could trail kisses down her chin and throat. He guided her all the way down to the blanket as his mouth kept going, finally pressing against her heartbeat through the fabric of her bodice. It was going like a rabbit's.

"What would it take to get you out of that corset?" Bern whispered.

"Just undo the laces," Elsa whispered back.

Bern peeled out of his own clothes before he kissed her again and turned his attention to Elsa's laces while she self-consciously managed not to look at him. They untied easily. The sunset was blazing off the clouds, casting an orange glow on her pale hair, warming the porcelain color of her skin. He laid her back down, kissed her good night and then kept right on going. Her response was so warm that he never bothered to check if the ocean had frozen or not as they made love.

~###~

Elsa woke up the next morning in the gray light before dawn to a light breeze stirring her hair. She blinked until the disorientation faded and memory returned. With a gasp, she sat up straight, which woke up Bern.

"Elsa?"

She looked at him in horror and embarrassment, relieved she'd insisted he put pants on last night when she'd gotten into a long-sleeved nightgown and buttoned it up to her collar. Thank goodness he was at least in pants, but he still needed a shirt, and a jacket, and a vest, and a tie, and stockings, and boots, and then he could wear a cloak too, even if it was summer. Also a hat. And gloves.

"Bern, did yesterday really happen?" Elsa asked, her face buried in her hands.

"I certainly hope so, because I can't think of any other explanation for where we are right now," Bern said, reaching for her.

Every fear and reflex in Elsa's mind and heart was to get away from him. She flinched when he touched her. He didn't remove his arm from her waist, but he stopped trying to pull her closer. She knew she couldn't do this to him; it would break his heart if she froze him out now. Her thumb found the ring on her finger and rubbed it like a talisman; she really was his wife and he was her husband and it would be cruel if she ran as far away as she wanted to run right now.

Elsa let the tension overflow into tears, because then he would hold her without trying to kiss her or touch her or try to do anything like he'd done last night – like they'd done together, if she wanted to be fair. And she wasn't crying so much about Bern as she was crying with the intensity of feeling, and the guilt of having had so many feelings. She wasn't supposed to have feelings, and if she did have feelings, she certainly wasn't supposed to enjoy them. Last night had been too overwhelming and she wasn't sure she could ever do that again.

"Elsa, are you all right? Elsa?" Bern pulled her down to cry on his chest, and she struggled away.

"Can you put a shirt on?" she asked through her tears.

He snagged the shirt he'd discarded last night and pulled it on, not bothering with the buttons before he pulled Elsa again into his embrace and this time she let herself cry on him. She'd been doing that for days now, so that was familiar, at least.

"Darling, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you last night? Or frighten you?" Bern asked, stroking her hair, massaging her shoulders, his voice full of concern.

Yes to both questions, but the pain and fear hadn't mattered to her at the time; they mattered now. As if she wasn't confused enough, her mind then pointed out that at least she hadn't married Prince Dominic, because then the pain and fear would have been worse. Elsa went into hysterics of relief that she'd married Bern.

"Elsa!" He pulled them to sitting, used a blanket to wipe away tears and tried to get her to look at him. "Elsa! What's wrong? Talk to me!"

Unaccountably, she started shivering, which made no sense for someone who couldn't get cold.

"Do you want a fire? I can get the fire going again," Bern said. "Say something to me, Elsa!"

"You're as warm as the fire is, Bern." That didn't make any sense either, but at least she'd said something. "Hold me tighter. Don't let go." That also didn't make sense, because the urge to run away was pounding in her head and heart.

Bern folded her into his embrace and she clung to him. Oddly, once she knew she couldn't run away, she stopped wanting to. And then she realized what had just happened. Maybe she would tell Bern eventually. She took a deep breath and let it out with a shudder and relaxed in his arms, letting her head fall back to his shoulder. "Let's just watch the sunrise."

The clouds were turning pink, and then golden as the sun peeked up over the horizon. "It's beautiful, isn't it Bern?" Elsa asked calmly.

"Yes. It's almost as beautiful as you are. The light is turning your hair the same color as the clouds," Bern replied.

Elsa watched the sunrise, suspecting that Bern was watching her more than the sky. She rubbed her fingers through the hair on his arms, idly thinking that she'd never even seen Bern's arms before last night. He wore long sleeves more often than she did.

The sun was fully up before Bern asked, "Are you all right now?"

"Maybe."

"That was a little ambiguous, Elsa."

"Remember a hundred years ago when I told you I might still be a little crazy sometimes?"

"You mean yesterday? Yes, I remember," Bern replied.

"Yes, that's what happened," Elsa said, sleepy again. "Can I just lie down for a while?" She didn't wait for an answer, but disentangled herself from him to wrap up in a blanket and curl up.

Bern got up. She heard him moving around and searching through a basket, and then he left. She assumed he went back to the boat for something. When he came back, she heard him unpacking a basket, and then the fire began to crackle again. The promise of a fire coaxed Elsa out of her blanket cocoon, and she shed it and crawled towards the fire. It worked again, just like last night.

"I love fires," Elsa said with a happy sigh, hands over the flames.

"Would you love some breakfast too?"

Elsa accepted a tin cup of peach juice, and a bowl of peaches with bread and kefir. They sat next to each other without talking, watching the fire, hearing the waves on the beach, and enjoying the comfort of being silent in each other's company. Elsa noticed that Bern was favoring his right arm, and using his left arm if he had to reach very far.

"What happened to your arm?"

"It just aches. A day of dueling lessons followed by a day of sailing combined to let me know that I usually spend my days working on reports and attending meetings," Bern admitted, drinking the last of the peach juice.

Elsa ignored the comment about dueling, unwilling to argue with Bern right now, and had an argument instead with her responsible streak which was warning her that if she wanted to avoid a repeat of last night's overwhelming experience, she shouldn't do what she was thinking about doing. Elsa told her responsible streak that it wasn't wanted. "I could rub your shoulder for you, if it would help," she offered.

"Thank you, I believe it would help," Bern said politely.

"Take your shirt off," Elsa told him, stuffing her responsible streak out of sight.

"Really?" And his eyes gleamed.

"Don't read too much into it, Bern, just take your shirt off," she said sternly.

"I promise to read nothing into it whatsoever. I can't imagine a man reading anything into a request like that on his honeymoon," he said, taking his shirt off and lying down on his stomach.

Before she could lose her nerve, Elsa straddled him, legs on either side of his hips, and grabbed his shoulder, kneading it with her fingers. "Is it this shoulder that hurts?"

"Yes, and the other one, and most of my back, actually, and then I've got some other ideas if you're interested."

"This will last longer if you don't make me blush by talking too much," Elsa warned him.

Bern didn't say another word, but put his head down on his folded arms and closed his eyes. He wasn't talking to her or looking at her, and that gave her the chance to examine him, for lack of a better word. She'd never seen anyone else's body before, and she was curious. She leaned her weight onto her hands and dug the heels of her hands into his back, feeling the muscles give way as she rubbed her way up to his shoulders. He looked broader through the shoulders than she'd expected, and she squeezed his biceps before running her hand all the way down his arms and then back up. She took a second to squeeze her own arm in comparison, then went back to him, toying with his shoulder blades before she dug her fingers into the hair on the back of his neck and rubbed her fingers up onto his scalp, pulling through his tangled curls.

He moaned with pleasure and she snatched her hands back. She was experimenting on him, without feeling much at all one way or the other, but it occurred to her too late that she'd affected him much differently than she'd planned in her naiveté; she should have listened to her responsible streak. Suddenly he was rolling over, one hand fumbling with her nightgown while the other hand caught her shoulder and pushed her down to the blanket. He was brushing her lips with his, whispering her name.

"Bern, stop!" Elsa cried out, hands flat against his chest and pushing him away.

It took him a second, but he did stop, sitting up and letting go of her entirely. She didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything and he didn't either. They just sat next to each other, not touching or talking, and Elsa wondered how she was ever going to handle being married. Yesterday, she'd thought she wanted to spend months alone with him, and today she wanted to go back to the castle and have a meeting about agriculture.

"Do you want to set an agenda for today?" Bern asked her after a long time of silence.

"We could clean up breakfast. Perhaps you could show me how to help you sail," Elsa suggested.

Bern just nodded, looking out at the waves, his eyes the color of the water.

"Did you want to submit anything to the agenda?" Elsa asked at last.

"You vetoed it already," Bern said.

"I think it needs to be discussed in committee first," Elsa replied.

"Can I be the committee chair?"

"All right."

"The committee meeting is now called to order. Elsa, can you explain what needs discussion?" Bern asked.

Elsa folded up her knees and rested her chin on them, gazing out to sea. Elsa had a lifelong habit of refusing to answer people if she didn't know what to say, and only in this past year had she seen how much pain that could cause to the other person in the relationship. It didn't make it any easier for her to find words, but it did mean she made more of an effort.

"I'm going to say this all wrong, Bern, but I've watched Kristoff with Anna and it's always been a little frightening to think of anyone doing that with me. Anna has had time to get used to Kristoff before the wedding. I've kept you at a distance up until a couple of days ago. It's just overwhelming that I kissed you for the first time a week ago, and then we had a wedding night. It was too much for me."

Bern looked like he was trying to think of something to say, so Elsa interrupted him. "I'm not asking you for an apology or anything. It was all my decision to not even let you hold my hand even when I knew my feelings for you were growing stronger, and then only a few days after our first kiss, I asked you to elope and run away with me. You've done everything I've asked you to do, Bern. But up until a few days ago, hardly anyone ever touched me besides a few hugs from Anna. It's too much too soon."

She tried to discern the expression on his face, but he was carefully being unreadable, which meant she'd hurt him and he didn't want her to know.

"Would you have married me even if Prince Dominic hadn't come to Arendelle?" Bern asked her. "Or was I just a way to escape him?"

Elsa hesitated too long.

"I suppose that was my answer. I'll go see how the boat's doing." Bern got up and walked off.

"Bern, you can't walk out of a committee meeting, especially when you're the chairman. I would have married you anyway; it just would have taken longer. Prince Dominic rushed us," Elsa said, following him.

"How much longer? Twenty years? Forty?" Bern didn't stop walking away.

"Bern, I'm doing the best I can!" Elsa cried out.

He finally stopped walking and turned to face her. "So am I, but I'm not sure how much longer I can keep it up." A look of frustration crossed his face.

"Don't walk away from me, Bern. Talk to me," Elsa pleaded.

His face softened as he looked at her. "Yes, I suppose the committee chairman has a few comments as well."

"Can I put my head on your shoulder so my ears are closer?" Elsa asked.

Bern smothered a smile. "The committee chairman finds that to be a reasonable request."

Elsa slipped her arms around his bare waist and laid her head on his shoulder.

He put his arms around her tentatively as he began to talk. "I've loved you for a long time, Elsa. I don't remember when I crossed the line from merely thinking you were the most beautiful creature on earth to when I started actually loving you, but I crossed that line before your coronation, even though I'd barely seen you a dozen times. You came to Council meetings with an invisible wall up between you and the rest of the world; I was never sure you even noticed we were in the room with you. And then you threw down that barricade of ice spikes at your coronation ball and that invisible wall of yourselves suddenly made sense. Elsa, everyone else was staring at those ice spikes. I was staring at you. You'd known you could do something like that. It was all over your face. You weren't afraid of what you'd just done. You were afraid of us and our reaction more than that crazy power you'd kept hidden.

"I went to your palace on the North Mountain on the rescue mission with Prince Hans. That palace you created was, wasn't, it was," Bern stopped and struggled for words. "It was otherworldly. Nothing like that has ever been on earth. It was the home of an angel. I didn't know if you belonged here on earth with the rest of us, or if you needed to stay in that palace. If I brought you back to a place as ordinary as Arendelle, would you be able to survive? Or would you fade away and die because there was nothing as beautiful as you are down here on earth?"

Elsa was crying by this time, as softly as she could so he wouldn't stop talking. She did love Bern, but he loved her more. He had a capacity for love that she couldn't match yet because she'd spent so much of her life wrapped up in herself and her fears.

"I know it's been hard for you to find a place for yourself here on earth. I've known you were afraid of connecting with people, so I kept my feelings back. I didn't want to overwhelm you, and then I did anyway. You've said I'm candid, and I am on some things, but between the Battle of Arendelle and Christmas, when you knew how I felt about you and you froze me out, I was in despair. I kept my feelings hidden and tried to go through the motions, but inside I was thinking that I needed to resign from the Council and go back to my profession instead. If I could get away from you, maybe I could get over you."

"I'm so sorry, Bern," Elsa whispered.

"Christmas was the deadline I'd set for myself. If nothing changed by Christmas, I was going to resign from the Council. Then I got my Christmas miracle, or I thought I did," Bern said. "It turned out to be only friendship again, after all. I wondered a thousand times if I was being pathetic to love a woman for two years without any encouragement at all. I mean, you did promise to fall in love with me, but then you didn't and I didn't dare ask why not. Then my mother ruined the economy. I thought I'd given up hope for us at that point, but when I got back to the castle and found out about Prince Dominic and the betrothal agreement I discovered that I could feel worse after all.

"And then you wanted to marry me yesterday. Maybe if I had any dignity left where you're concerned, I would have insisted that we wait and make sure you actually wanted to be married, but I thought I should marry you before you changed your mind, although that might have been better than finding out after the wedding that you'd changed your mind and we're still just friends.

"I have no idea why I just said all that. I didn't know I even had that much bottled up. Elsa, give me some time. I'll pull it together and we can be proper and keep up appearances and I won't bother you any more than absolutely necessary to provide Arendelle with an heir." Bern let go of her and turned away.

"I haven't changed my mind about being married. Don't go, Bern," Elsa pleaded.

"I'm just going to the boat, Elsa. I'm not going to strand you here," Bern said, and he sounded tired more than anything.

"Rejection. Your deepest fear is rejection, and I just rejected you," Elsa said.

"As if I wasn't completely vulnerable to you already, you have to know that too," Bern said, and the words had an edge to them.

"Do you remember at Christmas time I told you about how I feel empathy for the people I love most? I fall into their hearts and find out their deepest fear. I felt that your deepest fear is rejection; I felt it at the same time that I knew I would marry you someday," Elsa said.

He stopped trying to leave, caught between hope and pain. "You keep hinting that you love me, Elsa, but you've never actually said the words."

"I haven't, have I? I love you, Bern, I really do. I'm sorry I'm going to cause us so many problems. Let me try again, please. I love you." Elsa tried to put her arms around him again, but he caught her hands and held them instead. He always looked so young when he was hoping she liked him.

"Since I have no defenses against you anyway, I'm just going to say this. Elsa, last night, for me, was the most beautiful experience of my life. I've loved you for so long, and I've only gotten to say so recently. So to be able to say 'I love you' with my whole body was incredible for me. I understand it may mean something else to you, and I'll try to be understanding and patient. But that's what our wedding night meant to me."

Elsa didn't know what to say to that, and she fiercely regretted the fact that she was hurting him because she couldn't match him. "You're a better person than I am, Bern. Sometimes I'm selfish and I tend to try and isolate myself whenever I get upset. And I can be demanding and impulsive and I'm scared of that other version of myself," Elsa said.

She finally won a smile from him, wry and thin, but still a smile.

"Yes, I've noticed," he agreed.

Elsa laughed with relief that he wouldn't insist she be a flawless and idealized woman. "This morning, when I had hysterics, it was because I was afraid of feeling that deeply again. I'm not very good with feelings. And Bern, I was so glad it was you and not Dominic last night, truly I was. That was the other reason I was crying so hard; I'd come so close to making the biggest mistake of my life and I was so relieved I'd married you instead. I love you. And in a way I'm glad Dominic rushed things for us so much, because I would have taken too long. I don't want to be alone anymore; I need practice, though."

The tired, defeated look was gone from his eyes now, and they were cautiously hopeful. "I might be able to help you practice. Are you afraid of me at all?" Bern asked.

Elsa shook her head. She wasn't afraid of him so much as she was afraid of her own feelings and confusion about being married too soon, and that wasn't his fault.

"Are you afraid of our lovemaking?"

"Nervous, but not afraid," Elsa admitted, though honestly, she was surprised he would ask for more. But she couldn't turn him down, not after that conversation.

He looked into her eyes. "So if I make love to you right now, it won't frighten you?"

Elsa slowly shook her head, and watched his eyes ignite again. Her heart started beating faster, and flutters ran all the way down her insides.

He ran a finger along the neckline of her nightgown, and then bent to kiss the hollow of her throat, his other hand circling her waist and pulling her close.

"Bern, are you trying to sneak this back onto the agenda without a vote? Because that's out of order."

"You'll have to file an objection with the committee chairman, and he's busy right now."

After that, she didn't get much chance to speak.

~###~

Much later, when Elsa would have pulled away from him, Bern held on to her and she let him, curling up instead to a put a little space between them. The intensity was too much for her again, and her need to get away and let her feelings dissipate warred with her reluctance to hurt Bern. _Don't run away_, she chanted to herself over and over.

Bern stopped stroking her arm and shifted away from her. "That's really your reaction? If you need to go, I won't stop you."

"I didn't mean to say that out loud."

He sat up. After a few minutes, he said, "Do you want a sailing lesson?"

Elsa nodded, relieved at the idea of focusing on something besides each other. She was making a sad tangle out of her attempt to learn how to be married on this first day after their wedding.

~###~

As the sun sank into the ocean that night, Bern watched Elsa flit around the fire again, warming her hands and face. Her hair was the color of moonlight, blushing orange in the flicker of the fire, caught back into a messy braid that kept releasing locks of hair to float around her face in the most fetching manner. He wished he dared smooth the hair out of her eyes, or offer to braid it more tightly. He hadn't touched her since he'd offered her a sailing lesson. Even on the boat, they'd stepped around each other carefully, and when he'd brushed her hands while showing her how to tie a half-hitch knot, he'd apologized for the contact.

At last, Elsa stopped adding wood to the fire and let it burn down. The embers glowed red against the black charcoal.

"Do you want to bank the fire yourself tonight?" Bern asked her.

"Teach me."

Bern handed her the spade he'd brought from the boat and showed her where to pile the ashes.

"There. Did I do it right?" she asked.

"We'll find out in the morning when we try to start it again," he replied. "Elsa, do you want your own blanket tonight?"

She hesitated, probably trying to decide how to say yes without hurting his feelings, Bern assumed. He handed her a blanket and pointedly got his own.

"Is it all right, Bern?" she asked. He heard the relief in her tone.

"Yes, it's all right," he said, forcing himself to keep the disappointment out of his voice, even adding a smile. "You've had enough for today."

"It was a lot," she suggested.

Not nearly as much as he wanted, though. "Yes, it was a lot. Get some sleep, Elsa."

"I love you, Bern."

"I love you too."

Elsa wrapped up in her blanket and laid down a few feet away from him, so curled in that he couldn't even hold her hand. He refused to be pathetic enough to ask for what she plainly didn't intend to offer. He'd already been pathetic enough to love her for years without any response from her besides friendship. Their relationship had always been unbalanced, and a wedding ceremony wasn't going to balance things out. He'd been a fool to think that Elsa would ever love him with even half the passion and devotion with which he loved her. She would like him, and feel sorry for hurting him, and that was all.

Bern swallowed hard against the tightness in his throat.


	17. Chapter 17 - Kristoff Attempts Politics

**In chapter 2 of "On Christmas Day in Arendelle," Kristoff confessed to anxiety attacks when he's spent too much time around people and needs a break . . .**

* * *

**Chapter 17 – Kristoff Attempts Politics**

Kristoff was on his way to breakfast the day after Elsa's wedding when Sir Lester approached and asked to speak with him. He should have turned him down; Kristoff was never at his best when he was hungry, but much of last night's discussion in the emergency Royal Council meeting had involved accommodating the delegation from Easthaven while also avoiding telling them about the wedding.

"I have a few minutes," Kristoff said.

Sir Lester looked down his high-bridged nose, which irritated Kristoff since Sir Lester was barely older than he was. "This may take more than a few minutes. The details of this duel should be important enough to command your attention. You are aware that this economist's honor depends on the outcome? Delaying the duel for paltry reasons suggests his courage leaves something to be desired."

"You can call him 'Lord Councilor Bern' if you need to refer to him. I told you there was another family matter that couldn't wait," Kristoff said. And if Sir Lester assumed it had to do with the death of Bern's father instead of his wedding, that was fine with Kristoff.

"Is his family large? Will we have many such delays?" Sir Lester asked acidly.

"No."

"Then I propose we fix the date for the duel. Would a week suffice to settle this current family matter? Prince Dominic is willing to give him that long out of courtesy, but I suggest he not impose on the prince's good nature any further."

"He won't be back for a couple of months," Kristoff said with a shrug. "So I don't have to talk to you about it right now; we've got plenty of time to pick a date, unless Prince Dominic wants to leave before then, which is fine."

"I suspect that the people of Arendelle do not understand how serious of a slur this economist cast on Prince Dominic and how anxious he is to expunge the insult. He is here to court Queen Elsa, and to have his honor called into question on the very topic of his intentions towards her concerns him greatly," Sir Lester said.

Kristoff stepped up close to Sir Lester. "His name is 'Lord Councilor Bern' and not 'the economist.' Can you get that part right so we can keep talking?"

Sir Lester's nostrils flared, and then he said, "Lord Councilor Bern has cast a serious insult at Prince Dominic, and he is concerned about dealing with it as soon as possible."

"Dealing with it as soon as possible means Lord Councilor Bern has to be here, wouldn't you agree?" Kristoff said pleasantly.

Kristoff waited until Sir Lester was forced to answer the question in the affirmative.

"So we'll deal with it as soon as possible, and if that happens to be a month or more, let's make the best of it. Sound good?" Kristoff went on.

"No, it doesn't sound good," Sir Lester said. "Prince Dominic is concerned the issue may delay his courtship of the queen."

Kristoff decided he couldn't safely reply to that. "I'm going to get breakfast. If you have to come with me, you can."

"I've already eaten. And I don't think you're taking this seriously enough."

"I told you he's not here. It doesn't matter how serious I get about it, he's still not going to be here," Kristoff said, exasperation creeping into his voice.

Sir Lester pressed his lips together into a tight line, and then said, "I will tell that to Prince Dominic. Good day to you."

Kristoff managed a civil reply before walking away. His breath kept catching as his chest seemed to constrict further with every breath, and his thoughts were racing too fast. Kristoff decided to get some breakfast, and then talk to Anna about whether or not he could leave for a few days and go breathe in the mountains. He had a feeling the answer would be 'no.' He dug his fingers into the knotted muscles at the base of his neck.

~###~

"The value of four warships should offset the amount we owe Easthaven," Anna pointed out reasonably. "We aren't trying to get out of any of our financial responsibility under the treaty, but in this situation, Easthaven didn't have to do anything but come collect the warships we already defeated." She'd said that three different ways so far, and Admiral Wordonn was not accepting a word of it.

"Easthaven still bears the expense of prize crews, and repairing the ships, your Highness, not to mention the prisoners," Admiral Wordonn replied.

"We can supply you with wood for the new masts, and food for the prisoners," Anna countered. Gustav had suggested she keep the cash payment as low as possible by offering other items. He was seated next to her, listening to her argue with Admiral Wordonn, who was across the table seated next to Prince Dominic. Anna wished she and Admiral Wordonn could leave and let Gustav and Prince Dominic work out everything directly. They were the ones arranging everything anyway. It was slightly ridiculous to have a nineteen-year-old girl arguing with a sixty-year-old admiral about a treaty, even if she was a princess.

"Those items are already on their way from Easthaven, and having duplicate items from Arendelle would not lower the expense we've already incurred by shipping them so far," Admiral Wordonn said.

"Your warships may carry spare sailcloth, but do they really have spare masts as well? Arendelle is ready to supply masts for repair," Anna insisted.

"We would accept masts from your forests," Prince Dominic broke in. "Arendelle's wood is superior to anything we produce at home."

"Thank you," Anna said, relaxing a little.

"However, the matter of the prisoners is of more concern," Prince Dominic went on. "Feeding them is only part of the expense; of greater concern is security, and keeping them from an attempt to take over the ship again."

"Part of a surrender is for officers and crew to offer their parole, your Highness," Gustav said. "Do you frequently have trouble with crews who have sworn not to fight? Especially if they might be thrown overboard for making trouble?"

"The surrender is not yet official, Gustav, and we haven't been to the ships to ask for parole. It's quite possible that they're angry enough to refuse; a battle like this one has never been fought before. I hoped to suggest that Queen Elsa accompany us to the ships to ask for their surrender. Another display of power from her would ensure order among the defeated officers and crew. May I ask her to accompany us?" Prince Dominic said.

"She is not able to accompany you," Gustav said without elaboration.

Prince Dominic waited for several seconds longer, but Gustav and Anna refused to fill the silence with explanation or excuses. Anna thought his reasons for wanting to see Elsa were getting more and more farfetched.

"With all due respect, I encountered her in the hallway the day after her unfortunate storm, and she was able to talk to me and communicate her wishes clearly and in person. I ask for nothing more than another audience with her," Prince Dominic said.

"Yes, we saw the ice wall that resulted from your conversation when you accosted her without invitation," Gustav said in his most pleasant tone. "Her Majesty does not desire a repeat of that interview; it upsets her greatly when she is forced to use her magic in order to protect herself. I am sure your genuine regard for Queen Elsa would prevent you from insisting on any action that would make her uncomfortable."

"Her sister is welcome to be present. I have heard that Princess Anna's love is able to help control her magic," Prince Dominic said with a polite nod towards Anna.

"I haven't been as much help lately as Bern," Anna said frankly. "Have you noticed that, Gustav?"

"I have," Gustav said carefully, and Anna wondered if she shouldn't have said that. But Prince Dominic would have to find out at some point that Elsa had married Bern yesterday, so perhaps it was all right to drop a few hints.

Prince Dominic pressed his lips into a thin line. "How exactly does that work, your Highness? Her Majesty was only able to tell me that love helped her control her powers. That does not sound like a precise or predictable method of control."

"Oh, there's nothing precise or predictable about it," Anna agreed. "She loses control, and then we all run around and try to fix things while Elsa's freaking out and no one can figure out what's bothering her because she never tells anyone anything beforehand, and Olaf starts spouting off about true love and then Kristoff sets off a flood and snow monsters rage through the streets and the village goes up in flames. That's pretty much how the Battle of Arendelle went. We give Gustav a headache sometimes. This thing with those warships from Weselton was so calm!"

Gustav cleared his throat and stroked his goatee, blinking fast. "While her Highness is correct in essentials, we do try for a little more decorum than she suggests."

"Decorum, right. We like decorum! We don't manage it very often, but we do like it," Anna agreed, with a glance at Gustav to see if that was any better.

"Perhaps we could check the lumberyards for any timber that might be suitable for ship masts and meet again the day after tomorrow," Gustav said, clearly anxious to end the meeting.

"Councilor, you will forgive my bluntness, but it appears that Queen Elsa is avoiding me and hiding behind these excuses," Prince Dominic said.

"She's set off a barricade of ice spikes and then sprouted an ice wall out of the floor to get away from you. Would you prefer a giant snowflake in the sky spelling out the words 'I'm not interested' to getting more excuses?" Anna said.

"Your Highness," Gustav said to her in his warning tone.

Prince Dominic took a few seconds to force the muscle in his jaw to visibly relax before he said, "More than that is required in this situation. I had hoped that Queen Elsa would be reasonable and willing to do what her rank required, but if it becomes necessary to bring out the betrothal agreement to spell out her obligations, I will provide her with a copy."

"We look forward to seeing a copy of the betrothal agreement. Please send it to me at your earliest possible convenience," Gustav said immediately. "I will bid you good morning. Come, your Highness."

Gustav stood up and took Anna's arm, pulling her out of the room before she could say all the things she wanted to say, which is probably why he was in such a rush to leave.

"Why can't he just take 'no' for an answer?" Anna fumed to Gustav when they were safely away in another corridor.

"Unfortunately, that betrothal agreement insists that the answer be 'yes.' I hope to find an expiration date or some other clause that ends Queen Elsa's obligations if the marriage did not take place by a specific date," Gustav said.

"It's been four years!" Anna said.

"Exactly. I wish we had kept a copy of our own; I do not remember if King Agdar had arranged for the marriage to take place several years ago, or if he'd always intended to postpone the ceremony until Queen Elsa came of age. Prince Dominic may not have delayed as long as we supposed; it's quite possible the marriage was always intended to take place after Queen Elsa's twenty-first birthday."

"And if the betrothal agreement didn't say that four years ago, it would be easy enough for him to put that clause into the copy he gives to us," Anna said.

"Which is why we will ask to compare it to the original," Gustav replied.

"When are we going to show him the marriage certificate that Pastor Thomas gave you? A marriage certificate trumps a betrothal agreement, right?"

"I hope so, Anna. If he intends to be difficult, he could appeal to the Lutheran Synod to annul the marriage. The longer the marriage lasts, the less chance that appeal has for success, which is why we want to delay as long as possible before Prince Dominic finds out what happened," Gustav said.

"Why does he want to marry someone who doesn't want to marry him? He ought to have enough pride to want to marry someone who actually likes him, instead of forcing someone to marry him," Anna said.

They reached the library and went in. Kristoff was pacing back and forth in front of the fire, wearing a blue shirt and black trousers.

"Hi, Anna. Hi, sir," Kristoff said. "I need to take off for a few days. I thought I'd tell you before I left instead of leaving a note."

Anna's stomach clenched with disappointment and worry. She knew he needed to leave sometimes, but did it have to be now?

Gustav said it for her. "Kristoff, I don't need to tell you how sensitive the situation is right now, especially regarding that duel between Bern and Prince Dominic. As Bern's second, if you disappear too, they have grounds to declare the duel abandoned. The loss of honor and lifelong label of a coward would affect Bern's ability to be Prince Consort of Arendelle, and even reduce Arendelle's standing in the world."

Kristoff sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands. Anna could see him pulling on his hair and taking deep breaths. "So if I leave, I ruin Bern's life and Arendelle's foreign policy."

"Quite possibly. I'm sorry, Kristoff. I know it's difficult for you to be around people sometimes, but the stakes are too high right now," Gustav said.

Kristoff didn't say anything in reply. Anna watched him breathe, which began to turn into gasps.

"Kristoff, you could stay away from people more. You don't have to come to the meetings," Anna offered, trying to help. "You'd only have to talk to Sir Lester so he knows Bern hasn't abandoned the duel."

"Bern did abandon the duel," Kristoff said. "And talking to Sir Lester is a bigger problem for me than the meetings." He stopped and gulped more air.

"Could you be back by tomorrow?" Gustav said.

Kristoff shook his head. "I need longer than that."

"I'll have to ask you not to leave, Kristoff," Gustav said.

Kristoff nodded. "I have to go. I mean, not leave, but I'm going to go hang out with Sven for a while." He paused to kiss Anna's cheek on his way out the door.

~###~

Kristoff ducked down the servant stairs to get out of the castle and to the stables. Sven looked up and bellowed a greeting at him.

"No, I'm not fine. I need to get out of here but they say I can't leave because the situation is too important. I know that! That's why I want to leave! What if I screw up?" Kristoff ranted at him. He still felt like an iron band around his chest was pulling tighter, and he'd do anything to be able to breathe right now. He sat down in the straw next to Sven and leaned against his forelegs. Sven dropped his head down to look at Kristoff upside down, his antlers brushing Kristoff's knees. Kristoff put his head against Sven's head and took deep breaths, but it didn't seem to matter how deeply he inhaled, that iron band wouldn't let go.

_What do they want you to do?_

"Stick around and not ruin foreign policy."

_Anna would feel bad if you destroyed her career,_ Sven agreed.

Kristoff grabbed Sven's antlers and shook his head. "They can't blame it on me! The whole mess is Bern's fault! If he hadn't brought up those stupid letters that prove Prince Dominic arranged the attack from Weselton, Prince Dominic wouldn't have challenged him to a duel to defend his honor and I wouldn't have to stay around to be his second!"

Sven eventually yanked his antlers out of Kristoff's hands and held still until his eyes stopped spinning. _Wait. So Prince Dominic is double-dealing scum and you can't offend him while he plans to kill the person who exposed him?_

"Whoa, buddy, when you put it that way, we're going about this all wrong!"

_Obviously._

"No kidding! Why didn't I come talk to you days ago? I have to talk to Anna and Gustav again! If we can get this sorted out, I can leave." Kristoff got to his feet, slapped Sven affectionately on the rump and dashed out of the stables.

He was partway through the kitchen courtyard when Sir Lester hailed him.

"I can't talk right now," Kristoff said, refusing to stop. The iron band still circled his chest, and that crazy feeling that he'd be willing to do or say anything just to make it easier to breathe was more of a threat than foreign policy right now.

"Prince Dominic is not satisfied with getting excuses from both Lord Councilor Bern and Queen Elsa," Sir Lester insisted.

Kristoff whirled on him. "Would the truth be better? They don't want to have anything to do with Prince Dominic. If his intentions towards Elsa were good, he wouldn't be so determined to try and kill the man she loves! Furthermore, Dominic arranged the attack by Weselton, and fighting a duel isn't going to change the fact that we know about it! How about you and Dominic quit making excuses and trying to hide behind a duel to get away from the truth! You know what he's done and you're as slippery as he is!" Kristoff was shouting by this time, and the relief was loosening the band around his chest. He could breathe easier, which felt good even though his brain was informing him that he'd irreparably ruined the situation. "Gentlemen liars," Kristoff spat.

Sir Lester's brown eyes went hard and flat and he drew his sword. "You will answer for that."

"Kristoff!" he heard Rees shout, and then a sword came skittering over the paving stones towards him. Kristoff picked it up, noticing out of the corner of his eye that servants and Castle Guards were gathering, Rees and Phillip pushing the crowd back to give them room. Then he quit thinking, which made it easier to breathe, and he turned towards Lester with the same relief he felt when he started climbing a mountain or sawing ice.

Lester feinted. Kristoff ignored it and went in for the first swing, too upset to feint and try and draw out his opponent. Lester parried it easily; their swords clashed twice and then a third time before they broke apart. Lester lunged, and Kristoff took the risk that it wasn't a feint this time. He slammed down on Lester's sword hard enough that he heard Lester gasp before he flung him off, losing all the advantage he'd gained by going on the offensive. Kristoff regained his footing and ran at Lester with a savage overhand blow that sent Lester backstepping frantically across the paving stones.

Lester tripped on an uneven stone and went down on his backside, undignified and scrambling. Kristoff backed up a step and put up his blade until Lester regained his feet. The next time their blades met, it was in a more orderly exchange of thrusts and parries as they both searched for patterns and weaknesses in their opponents.

When Lester pulled back again, Kristoff pressed the offensive, forcing him to retreat until the spectators had to scatter out of his way. With an underhand swipe, Lester caught Kristoff off guard and regained lost ground. Lester pitted his greater experience and finesse against Kristoff's brute strength in a series of attacks designed to wear down his endurance.

Kristoff was still in a high temper, which made him less cautious than he should have been against a more experienced opponent. It was the sound of tearing cloth more than pain that alerted Kristoff to the wound on his upper left arm. He jerked, and Lester's sword left a deep scratch. First blood. There was a collective gasp from the spectators, including a woman's scream.

"Do you yield?" Lester asked, breathing hard with the exertion.

"No," Kristoff replied between clenched teeth, his breath also coming hard. The iron band around his chest was gone, and he felt like he could fight like this for hours; the relief at being able to breathe normally invigorated him so much.

Kristoff swung again; Lester parried and struck back. The duel lulled into a well-behaved series of step, lunge, parry and retreat, neither of them gaining or losing a clear advantage. Kristoff's arm began to sting as sweat rolled into the cut; the sleeve clinging wetly to his arm.

It was when Kristoff heard a shout he identified as Gustav that he went furiously on the offensive, swinging hard. If Gustav was coming, then Lieutenant Moyes wasn't far behind and insofar as he was able to think right now, Kristoff knew he wanted to finish this duel before anyone tried to stop him. Lester went stumbling back again, as his well-trained techniques faded under Kristoff's wild attack until Kristoff's carelessness left an opening and Lester slashed him across the chest. The explosion of pain enraged him further and he slammed his sword down on Lester's hilt. Lester was caught unawares, thinking that he'd won the duel by the second bloodletting, and his sword flipped out of his hand.

"Yield," Kristoff said fiercely, his sword at Lester's throat, his fist tangled in Lester's shirt to keep him from backing away.

"Kristoff!" And it was Councilor Vilrun's voice.

"Yield!" Kristoff shouted in his face, pressing the flat of the blade hard enough against his throat to stifle Lester's deep gasps.

"I yield," Lester said at last.

Kristoff released his shirt and stumbled back. Someone shoved a crate behind his knees as Councilor Vilrun took his right arm to guide him down to sit. Lieutenant Moyes tied a cloth around Kristoff's other arm and shouted orders to clear the crowd and get out of the physician's way as Milgard shoved his way through. Moyes took Kristoff's shirt by the collar and slashed it down the shoulders and pulled it out of the way, exposing the gash along his chest.

"It is customary to end the duel once you start bleeding to death," Milgard said acidly as he examined the wound. "You don't have the sense of a goat. Lie down and thank the patron saint of bloody fools that he slashed instead of stabbed."

And the crate was gone while many hands guided him down the paving stones. Moyes shoved a piece of leather into his mouth. "Bite down."

Kristoff bit down on the leather as Milgard threaded a needle and started stitching his chest back together. Eventually the sharp pain faded into a general haze that sent him floating to the edges of consciousness and a welcome invitation to leave the people and the pain behind. A face came into focus behind Milgard's shoulder.

Anna. He'd made Anna cry.

He closed his eyes against the guilt and the world faded away.

~###~

When Kristoff regained consciousness, it was to a rocking motion that made him feel queasy enough that the nausea commanded more of his attention than the burning sensation in his arm and chest. He groaned, and tried to push himself to sitting without success. Instead, he blinked and looked up at the sky. He was in the back of his own sled; he could see the high wheels over the sides and the tops of the trees as they drove through the forest. There was a thick white bandage over his chest, and another one wrapped around his left arm. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but had a light woven blanket draped over him. With a shudder against the pain, Kristoff craned his head around to find out who was driving his sled.

"Anna?"

She'd stopped crying, but she didn't look happy with him.

"Are you glad I'm not dead?" he ventured.

"Keep going, Sven," Anna said as she looped the reins over the peg on the dash and swung her feet around and joined Kristoff in the back of the sled.

"I'm taking you to the Valley of Living Rock. You can stay as long as you need," Anna said.

"They decided they could spare you for a few days?" Kristoff asked.

Anna huffed angrily at him. "They can't spare me! But I got voted least likely to finish killing you, although I'll have you know I voted against myself! And I'm only going to be gone overnight; Vilrun is coming to escort me home tomorrow morning."

Kristoff considered trying to explain himself, but based on Anna's scowl, he decided she wasn't in any mood to listen. He wondered if she was angrier that he'd almost gotten himself killed, or that he'd ruined foreign policy again.

"I'm sorry, Anna," Kristoff offered.

"For what?"

Kristoff had to think about that for a few seconds. He wasn't sorry about what he'd said to Sir Lester, or for fighting him. He finally settled on a source of regret. "I'm sorry I scared you and made you cry."

"You! You!" Anna had both fists raised over him, and the thought flashed through Kristoff's mind that if she pummeled his chest the way she usually did when she got frustrated with him, it was really going to hurt this time.

"You weren't supposed to do that!" Anna contented herself with shouting at him. Kristoff felt relieved when she put her fists down without hitting him. "Don't you ever do anything like that again! Elsa will never live through an experience like that because at least I knew you were going to win and Bern is going to get himself killed! Why do men have to be so stupid?!"

Kristoff decided not to answer that.

"Ooohh!" Anna growled at him. "Don't you try and say anything!" She climbed back onto the front seat of the sled and picked up the reins.

Kristoff refrained from pointing out that he already hadn't said anything.

Sven turned his head and bleated angrily in his general direction.

"I don't have to take that from you!" Kristoff hollered back.

"I told you not to say anything!" Anna shouted.

"I wasn't talking to you!" Kristoff said.

"You don't get to talk to Sven either!" Anna scolded him.

"He gets to talk to me like that and you think I have to sit here and take it?" Kristoff argued.

Anna shot him an angry look.

"Fine, I'll take it." Kristoff hunched down and adjusted the blanket, worried that he really had made Anna mad. He hated it when she was mad at him; it was like the whole world was upside down and gray. Anna was always so cheerful and loving that when she wasn't, it disoriented him as badly as if the sun rose in the west one morning. He surreptitiously prodded at his bandages, trying to find out exactly where it hurt and how much, while also keeping an eye on Anna.

Anna stayed angry all the way to the Valley of Living Rock. She drove the wheeled sled up to the terraces and slipped Sven out of the harness as the trolls unrolled and started the welcoming party.

"Anna's here!"

"Is the wedding today?"

"Can we put rocks in the wedding cake?"

"I have a new dress too!"

"Can you feel something strange?"

"Look! I made you a grass hat!"

"See my mushroom!"

"Did you bring a fire crystal?"

"Did Kristoff get lost?"

"Jump with me, Sven!"

"Who brought the magic?"

"I counted all the stars last night!"

"When can we expect a little Kristoff?"

This last question came from Bulda, and Kristoff sincerely hoped Anna would misunderstand it, which she did.

"He's in the sled," Anna said. "He picked a fight and got himself hurt so I brought him here where you can take care of him and let him rest."

Kristoff could hear Bulda clucking in disapproval as he worked the catch open on the back of the sled and gingerly scooted out, trying not to use any chest muscles as he moved. By the time he'd gotten out, Bulda was standing there with her hands on her stone hips and shaking her head.

"What did you bring?" she asked him.

Kristoff's leg muscles had cramped up on the drive, and the ache from his chest seemed to spread all over his body, interfering with his ability to figure out Bulda's question.

Grand Pabbie came rolling into the crowd of trolls who parted before him and unrolled, looking around with a sniff and a look of concern. "There is strange magic here."

Kristoff looked at Anna. Her hair was still red. More importantly, she didn't look angry anymore; she looked concerned and came over to help him stand. Anna sighed and gave him her quirky half-smile. "I don't know why I love you, but I still do. And if you had to fight anyone, I'm glad it was Sir Lester."

Kristoff's world turned right side up again.

"Kristoff, what did you bring?" Grand Pabbie said, before he could ask Anna why she didn't like Sir Lester.

Grand Pabbie came to the sled, and with a deep pop, flipped up into the back of the sled and started poking around. He shifted Kristoff's tools to the side, and pushed away the blanket Kristoff had been wearing, then moved a couple of small baskets from one side of the sled to the other before digging down and pulling out Sven's saddlebags that Kristoff had tossed into the sled when he'd gotten back to the castle after visiting Bern's estate.

"What did you bring?" Grand Pabbie said, shaking the saddlebag.

"I don't know. It's just a saddlebag I never unpacked. There are probably some clothes or tools or food in there," Kristoff answered.

The other trolls were gathering around, the little ones popping up onto the seat of the sled to see better, shifting glances from Kristoff to the saddlebag that Grand Pabbie was now emptying into the back of the sled. He left the other items in a pile, and picked up a bottle of black liquid.

"Where did you get this?" Grand Pabbie asked him as all the trolls double-blinked and turned to stare at Kristoff.

Kristoff blinked reflexively in return and thought back to Bern asking him to take that bottle and dump it out. "A friend gave it to me. He said it was medicine."

"Who?" Anna whispered.

"Bern. We found the bottle at his estate the day after his father died," Kristoff whispered back.

Grand Pabbie frowned hugely and worked the stopper out of the bottle to sniff at it. "Did you drink it?"

"No."

"It would kill a human," Grand Pabbie pronounced.

"Well, he's not dead," Kristoff said.

"A human took this medicine?"

"Yeah, he said his mother made him take it every week for a couple of years. It kept him from getting a fever," Kristoff said. "He hated it, though. He told me to dump it out."

A gasp went through the collected trolls, and Grand Pabbie hugged the bottle protectively. "Thank creation that you didn't."

"What is it?" Kristoff asked.

"Earth fire mixed with magic," Grand Pabbie replied. He took the bottle and jumped out of the sled. "It's an abomination to mix earth fire with magic; I must try and purify it. Keep your friend away from our Valley and warn him off from experimenting like this again. He has no idea what he's doing and he could kill himself, or worse."

"He didn't do it on purpose; his mother did it. He was just a little kid," Kristoff said.

"Regardless, he's interfered with things that no human should encounter," Grand Pabbie said, popping up the terraces with the bottle.

All the trolls were giving Kristoff looks that made him feel guilty, even though he didn't have any idea if he'd done anything wrong.

Grand Pabbie paused several steps up. "Kristoff, do you remember when I told you that the cave trolls use magic to try and obtain earth fire? They've spent years experimenting with using cold to entice earth fire into their trap. Ice magic and earth fire should never mix. Are you sure the person who drank this potion is still alive?"

"I saw him yesterday, and he was still alive," Kristoff confirmed.

Grand Pabbie considered something. "Somehow the earth fire must have bonded with a human soul, but that's impossible. Regardless, he must stay away from Queen Elsa and her magical ice and snow. It would be dangerous if her ice magic came into contact with someone infused with earth fire. Tell him that next time you see him."

Kristoff didn't respond and Grand Pabbie resumed popping up the terraces.

"Oops," Anna said quietly.


	18. Chapter 18 - A Hint of Peril

**Chapter 18 – A Hint of Peril**

Bern woke up early the next morning; Elsa was still curled up inside her blanket, breathing softly in her sleep. He watched her a few moments, then got up and left her sleeping. Bern got dressed, even going back to the boat for his boots. He refused to wear a jacket and tie on the beach, but he buttoned up his shirt and pulled on stockings and boots. The cotton shirt chafed on his sunburn, and he pulled at the collar and unbuttoned the top few buttons, then fastened them again, leaving only the collar button undone.

Back on the boat, he took the time to tidy up the baskets and chests that were getting scattered around, the activity giving him time to think through some of his turmoil. His father had died this week; he'd completely changed the relationship with his mother; he was trying to break the mirror of his life; and he'd gotten married. At some point, he needed to hold still and absorb all that.

He set down a box of Elsa's shoes that Gerda had sent along, idly wondering if she owned a different pair of shoes for each dress. He'd thought he was being extravagant when he'd bought himself a second pair of boots. Still, shoes were not important right now, though they were easier to think about than the things he didn't want to think about.

He sat down on the box, dropped his chin into his hands, and emptied the busy and unimportant thoughts out of his mind. The sun peeked up over the mountain peaks to the east, touching the clouds with a pink blush and golden edges, as he stifled the loneliness. On the way down from the North Mountain, Elsa had told him about how much fear had dominated her life, and her surety that the fear was gone now. If Bern had to name one emotion that dominated his life, it would be loneliness. He should have grown up in a crowd of siblings, with sisters to tease and brothers to fight with and idolize, and instead the house had been so empty it echoed with the unfulfilled promises of companionship. Being with his mother made the loneliness heavier, and so he'd fled and lost himself in his work, pouring himself into a career because he didn't have a family.

In this setting, far away from the castle, he realized it wasn't the work so much as the people that he craved. Gustav couldn't be around anyone younger than himself without acting fatherly; Rodmund's steady mentoring kept him going through self-doubts; Alan's cheerful wife and children took him in almost weekly for dinner where he watched their five children squabble and play in an agony of envy that he'd been denied siblings. So he'd appropriated Kristoff and Anna as siblings and got himself treated like a brother in return. And underneath it all, the currents of loneliness still ran, whispering that this was all temporary and these people would soon be gone as well.

Marriage was supposed erase his loneliness. If he and Elsa belonged to each other, he wasn't supposed to be lonely anymore because there would always be two of them. Bern watched the shadows on the mountain creep away from the morning sunlight and accepted that marriage wasn't going to change his loneliness overnight. Elsa had been through life-altering events this week as well, and it would take her time to adjust. He knew she loved him, even if he did love her more. She'd always required more patience than anything else from him. The thought made him sigh, but it was already obvious that actually being married to Elsa was going to be very different from daydreaming about being married to Elsa. Then he laughed at his own unrealistic expectations. A week ago, he never would have dreamed he could have been engaged to Elsa by now, much less married to her. So what if it took a few more months to get used to each other? Elsa's love would be sweeter for the wait.

When he got back to their blanket, Elsa was kneeling in front of the campfire and blowing on the banked embers to try and get the fire going again. He broke smaller pieces off the pile of driftwood and handed them to her, restraining the advice he wanted to offer. He could have restarted the fire faster, but the look of triumph on Elsa's face when she finally coaxed it back into a blaze was worth the wait. She warmed her hands.

"All the fires work now, Bern!"

He crouched next to her and held out his own hands to the warmth, thinking that it was odd that something everyone in the human race took for granted would be such a happy achievement for Elsa. She was so intelligent about government that it was easy to forget how much life experience she lacked. Relationships fell through one of those enormous gaps in her abilities, along with embroidery, banking fires, and making small talk with people. He watched her excitement with the fire and decided to be patient while she worked through the things she didn't know.

"I'll get dressed today too; that's a good idea," Elsa said. "I don't think I've ever spent an entire day in my nightgown before, except when I was sick."

"Did you get sick often?" Bern asked her, adjusting the collar that was rubbing on his sunburn.

"Sometimes, just because it broke up the monotony of getting out of bed every day when I had nothing to look forward to," Elsa said, undoing the clasps on a chest of clothes that Gerda had packed for her. "Did you get sick a lot?"

"I wasn't allowed to have friends as a child, so no, I didn't get sick," Bern said, and left it at that.

Elsa pulled a deep red velvet dress out of the chest, more suited for a ballroom than the beach, then put it back. She settled on a blue cotton dress with a white collar and cuffs. "Would you help me lace up my corset?"

"Do you have to wear a corset?"

"It makes the dress fit better," Elsa said. "Here, it's still threaded; just pull it tight and tie the laces."

Bern complied, and stifled a sigh as Elsa's body disappeared into a chemise, corset, petticoat, and dress. He unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled them up, deciding that more sun on his arms would be less painful than the cuffs rubbing his sunburned wrists.

"Did I get sunburned too?" Elsa asked, looking at his red arms.

He took her chin in his fingertips and turned her head to examine her face and neck for much longer than necessary. "No, you're the same porcelain color you always are," Bern said at last.

She paused, looking like she was debating something. He sincerely hoped it involved kissing, but then she said, "Bern, do you want me to try and heal your sunburn?"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm wondering if I can draw the heat out of your skin the way I can draw the heat out of other things. I did it to myself once. Do you remember when we went ice-blocking last winter? That was the first time the fire worked, and I scorched my palm. I drew out the heat of the burn on my palm. I think I could do it to you too," Elsa said.

"You think? Have you ever used your powers on a person before?"

"Well, just the times I've nearly killed Anna, but I don't think I can hurt you, Bern. Do you know what the strangest thing about yesterday was?"

Strange. Yesterday was strange. "Do tell."

"It never even crossed my mind to worry about my powers. I mean, there were a lot of strange things yesterday, and intense emotions, and I wanted to run away and I had to cry a lot and it was the craziest day of my life, even worse than my coronation day," Elsa said.

She was pressing her fingertip into his arm, watching it turn white and then back to red, so he was able to roll his eyes without her noticing as she described the first day of their honeymoon as worse than her coronation day.

"I should have frozen the whole world, Bern, or at least the island, and I never even thought to worry about it. You were right when you said my powers like you a lot. I don't think I can hurt you, no matter how upset I am," Elsa concluded.

That depended on what kind of pain she meant to inflict, but he decided not to go into that.

"So can I try it?" Elsa asked.

"I suppose."

"All right. I'm going to focus the cold. Heat can't stay away from cold, so my focus should draw the heat out. If it starts to go wrong, let me know and I'll stop."

"Do you need me to take my shirt off?" Bern asked.

"No," Elsa said, too quickly.

"Just offering. I thought you might need to reach the entire sunburn."

"Hold still and don't talk," Elsa ordered him, with that stern look that wrinkled the skin between her eyebrows.

Bern occupied himself by examining how tangled her hair was.

Elsa closed her eyes and hovered her cupped hands over his shoulders. At first, Bern was only conscious of a slightly cooler sensation in the air over his shoulders, and then the cold started to tug on his skin. There was a physical sensation as the heat started to pull away from him to get to Elsa, like goose bumps, only with tiny prickles and a rush of heat. The effect stayed in his skin at first, making his nose and cheeks tingle along with his arms, chest and back, and then suddenly the cold sank in and dove deep. Bern gasped and shuddered as Elsa's cold seemed to reach into a place under his heart and yank. Heat exploded throughout his body, as if every fever he'd never had engulfed him at once.

Elsa jerked her hands away. "Did I hurt you?"

"I can't tell yet," Bern gasped, wrapping his arms around his ribs, which surprised him by still being where they were supposed to be after the feeling of exploding. He pushed on his ribs and chest. Everything was still in place, and there didn't seem to be anything wrong.

"Your sunburn is gone," Elsa said.

"Thank you, but maybe next time I'll just let it heal in the ordinary course of time," Bern said. The burning sensation inside eased down to a tolerable level, but didn't go away. "I think I need something to drink."

Elsa hurried to the basket and handed him a jar of bottled apple slices. He pried the lid off and drank the juice without bothering with a cup. The heat didn't dissipate, and the cool juice felt extra cold in contrast.

"Can you tell if I hurt you yet?" Elsa asked anxiously.

"It didn't hurt exactly. I'm sure I'll be fine," Bern replied. "Should we get breakfast?"

"You sit down and rest. I'll get breakfast," Elsa insisted.

Bern sat down on the blanket and let Elsa get breakfast, trying to narrow down what had changed. The heat settled in further, and seemed to ease, although he wasn't sure if it was cooling off, or if he was getting used to the feeling and noticing it less. Other than that sensation of heat, nothing seemed to be different. But then Elsa went back to the boat for a minute, and the heat in him noticed she was gone. He closed his eyes. Elsa showed up as a cool shadow, drawing the heat in him towards her. This wasn't sexual desire for her – he was very familiar with that feeling, and this was different. Then she came back and the heat relaxed.

Elsa managed bread, cheese, fruit and juice for breakfast, which tasted even better in the crisp morning air.

"Should we put fishing on the agenda for today?" Elsa asked him.

"Yes, which puts fish on the menu for dinner tonight."

"I love fresh fish. Can we make a dill sauce?"

"We'll have to see if Gerda packed dill weed," Bern hedged, knowing full well that he couldn't make a sauce. "If not, we'll fry it in butter over a campfire."

"Even better!" Elsa said, and then her hair blew into her face. "Oh, I have to deal with this first."

Elsa finished her breakfast and fetched a comb. She plainly wasn't used to combing out her own hair.

"Would you like some help?" Bern asked.

"Do you know how to braid hair?"

"I can tie sailor knots in ropes, which can't be much worse than what you've already got."

Elsa handed him the comb and wrapped her arms around her knees while Bern knelt behind her and started to work the comb through the tangles. He supposed combing her hair was more than friendship; perhaps they weren't comfortable being married yet, but at least they hadn't gone all the way back to the friendly distance of three weeks ago. Besides which, he now had something more pressing to worry about than Elsa's shyness.

"Elsa, what does your magic feel like inside? Can you tell there's something cold in there?"

"I don't know; maybe I can. It's been there so long that I wouldn't know if my insides feel any different than yours. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. You've done so well controlling your magic now that I wondered if you're giving instructions to something, or exactly what it feels like to have magic inside of you."

Elsa thought about it. "I'm not giving instructions; I'm wanting something to happen and it does. Sometimes it even does more than I wanted, like when I created Olaf. It's like singing. I want to sing, and so it happens. Does that make sense?"

"Sort of. But it can't be like singing entirely. You leak magic whether you want to or not, and I'm not aware that you sing involuntarily," Bern said with a smile to camouflage his growing worry. He'd never been exposed to magic, except for Elsa, but the suspicion that something magical had just happened to him was at the edge of this thoughts. She'd nearly killed Anna both times Anna had encountered her magic; Bern hated to admit it, but he was scared.

"Yes, you're right. I guess I don't know how I control it or what it feels like," Elsa said. "My magic does what I want to it to do more often than it used to, but I still don't understand why. It has to do with love, and who can understand love? It's just there."

"Elsa, have you noticed you can't lose control of your magic if I'm touching you? Anna pointed it out the other day when we read the letters about King Agdar taking you to the cave trolls. You were obviously so upset, and yet there wasn't a snowflake in the room."

"There wasn't?" Elsa said, startled. "I was scared I was going to strike you all through the hearts with magic! I wouldn't even open my eyes!"

"Anna suggested it was because I was holding you."

"You held me when you brought me home from the North Mountain last summer, and nothing thawed," Elsa said after a moment of thought.

"You weren't accepting my love last summer," Bern said.

Elsa leaned against him. "It sounds like you know more about how to control my magic than I do."

"That's an uncomfortable thought." He needed advice from her. What if there was something magical about this heat and it started leaking out before he learned how to control it?

Elsa's hand went to his face. "It's strange, Bern, but you feel warm. I know what heat feels like now because the fires work, and I noticed yesterday you feel like the fire sometimes, especially when we, you know."

"Made love?" Bern filled in.

Elsa snatched her hand away from him.

Elsa's comment would have made sense if she'd used her magic on him yesterday, but she hadn't. Maybe this was just an unusual case of heartburn and it would go away soon.

Bern ran out of ways to prolong the task of combing and braiding her hair; he was finished. Elsa's fingers patted the braid and ran along the pattern. "That's very nice. You'll have to be the one to braid our daughter's hair."

Bern waited for her to remember that she shouldn't say things like that unless she wanted to try and conceive this child of theirs, hoping that she'd said it on purpose and he could help her get out of that corset again.

"Oh! I'm not supposed to say things like that, am I Bern? I'll go put the comb away!" Elsa said, leaping to her feet and darting off.

Bern sat down in the sand and sighed.

~###~

"Grand Pabbie thinks Bern ought to be dead already, so he's already wrong once about what can hurt Bern. Besides, Grand Pabbie has been wrong before about how to handle the damage from Elsa's ice magic," Anna argued. "I don't think we need to rush off and tell Bern to stay away from Elsa."

Kristoff scratched at his chest and pulled on the bottom edge of the fresh bandage that was curling up. Anna had changed the bandage that morning in front of an interested audience of trolls. "He ought to know about the risk; they both should know," Kristoff said. The two of them were hiking up the hill that bordered the valley, leaving Sven behind with the trolls while they stole a few moments alone, over Trixie's protests that Kristoff had just arrived and Anna always got to spend time with him so it wasn't fair she'd walk off with him again. Then Anna had replied that he wasn't around nearly as much as she wanted either, and they'd gotten into an argument about who was most disappointed in Kristoff's inability to be there when they wanted him. Kristoff ended the argument by walking off, frustrated that everyone wanted more from him than he could give.

"And then what happens, Kristoff? Elsa goes back to thinking she's so dangerous she can't be around anyone she loves and she exiles herself or hides in her room for the rest of her life? Grand Pabbie thought I couldn't handle knowing about her magic, and it ruined both our childhoods, all for nothing. I remember everything about the morning she struck me with her powers; I know all about her magic; I survived having my heart frozen. Elsa isn't dangerous."

This is where they disagreed. Elsa was dangerous, even if Anna wouldn't admit it. Anna survived because of strange flukes of fate, and a bullheaded determination to ignore the truth about Elsa's powers. Kristoff's look of frustration turned into a scowl as Anna's pinched mouth and drawn brows showed her determination to believe Grand Pabbie was wrong about the danger Bern was in.

"Grand Pabbie knows more about magic and earth fire than anyone else, Anna. You can't say he's wrong just because you want him to be wrong," Kristoff said.

"She isn't going to hurt Bern! She loves Bern, anyone can see that," Anna insisted.

Elsa loved Anna too, and Kristoff had been there when Elsa had blasted her through the heart with magic, setting off death in slow motion. "I'm not saying she'd hurt him on purpose, but they need to know there's a risk."

Anna stopped and turned to face him. "Do you know what Elsa will do if she accepts there's a risk? She's going to push Bern as far away as she can get him and isolate herself to protect him. Which is going to hurt him worse, Kristoff? Risking some sort of magical injury, or having Elsa refuse to be in the same room with him for the rest of her life?"

The answer to that question was obvious, but only because Bern had no instinct for self-preservation where Elsa was concerned. Kristoff considered arguing further, but he could tell Anna was set on sparing Elsa the pain of the old fear that she would hurt anyone she loved. He thought Anna was being foolish; Elsa could hurt people she loved, and she wasn't happy with people who kept secrets from her for her own protection. He settled on an issue that made the whole question moot.

"We couldn't find them anyway. They won't be back for a month or more, and by that time whatever is going to happen will already have happened," Kristoff said.

Anna shrugged and resumed walking. "Not really. We'd just load Olaf into Captain Dav's ship and let him point the way. Olaf can always find either one of us."

"Really?"

"He told me a few days ago. That's how he led us to Elsa on the North Mountain last summer; he found me in the library after Prince Hans left me to die; and a few other times. If we had to find Elsa, we could, but we don't need to find her because she and Bern deserve some time alone."

"Fine." Kristoff tried to shrug, but his chest strenuously objected to the motion and he flinched instead.

"It still hurts?" Anna asked, her fingers tracing the line of the bandage that was visible through his thin shirt.

"Only if I move, or breathe too deeply," Kristoff said, putting his arm around her waist now that she was so conveniently close.

"It was so awful to see you bleeding, Kristoff."

Kristoff was half an inch away from a kiss when someone called out for him. He sent a jealous thought in Bern's direction that he got to have a honeymoon while Kristoff couldn't even steal a kiss without trolls popping in.

"Kristoff!" There was a series of deep pops as Trixie and Vixie raced each other up the hill, popping over rocks and fallen trees.

"I get to tell him!" Vixie insisted.

"It's my turn!" Trixie yelled back.

"Why don't you both tell me at the same time?" Kristoff suggested, hoping to settle the fight and get rid of them before Anna moved away from him.

"Because Vilrun said I was supposed to tell you he was here!" Vixie said.

"You cheated!" Trixie accused her, and hit her.

Vixie hit her back, and then rolled up and popped away, Trixie chasing her.

"I guess that means I'm going home," Anna said, heading down the hill. "Stay here as long as you need, Kristoff, but I hope you can come back soon."

Kristoff caught Anna around the waist to stop her from heading back down the hill. "I'm actually doing a lot better right now. Yelling at Sir Lester and then fighting a duel helped a lot."

Anna gave him a strange look. "Maybe you should stay here until the urge to do anything else helpful passes."

Kristoff let her go this time. He'd gotten what he wanted; they knew better than to want him around when things were difficult, and he wished he could undo it. But there was no help for it; what was done was done. He took Anna's hand to help her over a fallen log and headed back down to the terraces with her to face Vilrun's disapproval and get an update on how badly he'd ruined foreign policy.

Trixie and Vixie popped back over, finished with their tussle. "Grand Pabbie worked all night on the earth fire you brought. It's going to need its own fire crystal, and we don't have one," Trixie confided.

"How long will that take?"

"Grand Pabbie doesn't know. Earth fire always brings its own fire crystal; we just shape it and keep it until the troll is ready. It's strange that something is happening that has never happened before," Trixie said.

"Humans have to deal with that a lot, you know. We always have things happening that haven't happened before," Kristoff said, defending himself from the accusation in Trixie's tone that he'd upset their orderly world.

"It's not our fault you humans don't live long enough to see everything go in cycles," Trixie said. "Nothing is supposed to surprise Grand Pabbie; he's lived so long that he's seen everything happen at least once, or the things that are supposed to happen, anyway. See? He's mad at you." Trixie pointed to where Grand Pabbie was making his slow way towards them, his wise face set into a look that Kristoff preferred to think of as deep concentration instead of anger.

"It's not my fault," Kristoff protested.

"Why is it that things that aren't your fault somehow end up landing in your lap anyway?" Anna asked.

"If I knew the answer to that question, I'd stop doing it," Kristoff said.

"Did you fix it yet, Grand Pabbie?" Vixie asked.

"I'm still working on it," Grand Pabbie replied. "It's a most unusual combination of magic and earth fire. It appears the magic was added to cool the earth fire, but it had the opposite effect; the earth fire took over the magic and may have conferred powers that not even we trolls have. Is your friend particularly good with fires?"

Kristoff snorted. "I've seen him start a fire with snow-covered wood and a wet match."

"So he may have some magical powers, in addition to the responsibilities of a double soul. If you're sure he's still alive, I would like to meet him," Grand Pabbie said.

"Grand Pabbie, what kind of danger would someone be in from Elsa's ice magic if he'd drunk that potion?" Anna rushed in to ask.

Grand Pabbie frowned and thought about it. "If he was going to die, I believe he would have died already, from the potion, not her Majesty's ice magic. If you're sure he survived the initial dosing, I doubt it would kill him now. However, the ice spell was devised by the cave trolls to trap earth fire, and my worry is that the effect would manifest as an overwhelming compulsion on the part of this friend of yours."

"Meaning?"

"He wouldn't be able to get away from her Majesty. Essentially, he would be trapped and unable to be far away from her for any length of time," Grand Pabbie said.

"My, my, what a terrible fate for him," Anna said drily.

"Fine, have it your way," Kristoff grumbled, and walked off down the hill.

"You don't have to be grumpy just because I'm always right," Anna said, catching up to him and taking his arm.

~###~

Vilrun was seated on the bottom terrace step next to Cliff, deep in conversation. A gray swaybacked mare was snuffling at moss while Sven frolicked with trolls over the steam vents. That wasn't Vilrun's horse, and Thunder, Anna's horse, was nowhere to be seen.

"I wonder if he left Thunder out where he could graze," Anna said, and dropped Kristoff's hand to go look. Kristoff almost followed her, but then decided it would look too obvious that he was afraid to face Vilrun's disapproval alone, so he turned back.

Vilrun was dressed in plain brown traveling clothes, unadorned by any indication of rank or service, with scuffed boots. Cliff was working a misshapen hat through his stone fingers, and Kristoff couldn't tell if Vilrun's hat was already that badly mauled, or if Cliff had done it. Kristoff had never seen Vilrun look so slovenly before – the man was precise in his dress almost to a fault, and that carried over to his horse's immaculate saddle and bridle; this gray mare was in a sweat-stained harness.

"You've kept Anna safe, then," Vilrun said in relief, striding over to Kristoff with his hand out. Kristoff took it automatically and Vilrun shook it hard, his black brows drawn together with emotion and his jowls drooping. "We'll pin another medal on you as soon as we get this current mess sorted out. Thank goodness for what you did! I'm sure Gustav will make his apologies for being snappish with you while you were unconscious as soon as he can."

"Huh?"

"Snappish? That's a diplomatic way to describe it, I guess," Anna said, coming back from the edge of the clearing without Thunder. "Wait, why should Gustav apologize?"

"Prince Dominic found out about Queen Elsa's wedding yesterday evening and unleashed a catastrophe upon us. His treachery goes beyond arranging the attack by Weselton – he was after you and Queen Elsa. He led a hundred soldiers into the castle to search for the two of you last night. They've barred Captain Torvin and the Castle Guards from the castle. Rodmund told them to cooperate rather than having a general bloodletting in the castle, since you and the queen are safely away. Prince Dominic was in a towering rage when they couldn't find either one of you. Rodmund faced him down and swore you were so upset by seeing Kristoff injured that you left without telling anyone where you were going."

"What? What does he want with Anna?" Kristoff asked.

"He declined to explain himself to us," Vilrun said. "Prince Dominic and Admiral Wordonn sailed away this morning on the _Easthaven Explorer_, but he left Sir Lester, Major Felix and the battalion of Easthaven soldiers in Arendelle. Easthaven has taken over Arendelle Castle – I had to trade places with the driver of this delivery cart and leave him in the castle in my stead; no one is allowed to leave. There's an armed guard outside Gustav's rooms. Rodmund is under the same restrictions. Rodmund's wife, Mirabelle, arrived at the castle this morning and was turned away by soldiers before Gerda identified her. She came with the news that Bern's mother, Lady Nadja, has left for Weselton; she was incensed to hear that she hadn't been invited to Bern's wedding, and not mollified to know that few in Arendelle were invited at all."

Anna and Kristoff barraged him with questions which produced more details about what he'd already said: Prince Dominic had taken over the castle and then sailed away; Arendelle Village was occupied by enemy soldiers; the Royal Council was under house arrest, enforced by Major Felix and his battalion of soldiers from Easthaven; the Castle Guards were being rounded up, but Vilrun had left before finding out their fate; Bern's mother had taken ship for Weselton. Vilrun insisted their first priority was Anna's safety, and under no circumstances was she to return to the castle and risk encountering Sir Lester or Major Felix, who were still actively searching for her.

"I'm not hiding up here and doing nothing when Arendelle is in danger!" Anna protested.

Vilrun looked at her in surprise. "Of course not; you'll be busier than anyone else on the Council because you're not under guard. Once Kristoff gets together with this mountain, strange things start to happen, and the trolls and ice harvesters are just as devoted to you as they are to him." He turned to Kristoff. "Only Alan knows I'm here, and there's no telling if he'll be able to let Rodmund or Gustav know where I've gone. You and I will have to put together a plan to defeat Easthaven. We've got several weeks at least before we expect Queen Elsa and Bern to come back. That's our deadline."

Kristoff's injured left arm suddenly developed a twitch and he scratched at it as he stared at Vilrun in disbelief. "Do you have any suggestions?" Kristoff finally asked.

"Wait," Anna interrupted, "Prince Dominic sailed away? Where is he going?"

"To look for the queen. Kristoff, you warned Bern about Prince Dominic; Bern knows he's to keep out of sight and keep Queen Elsa away from Arendelle," Vilrun said, and it wasn't a question.

"I told him," Kristoff said.

"Then Prince Dominic can waste all the time he wants searching every inlet and cove in the fjord and out to the North Sea without ever finding them," Vilrun said.

"Unless he tricked Olaf into helping him," Anna said, her face whitening.


	19. Chapter 19 - Captured

**Chapter 19 – Captured**

"This isn't a very nice surprise!" Olaf objected.

Prince Dominic ignored him, his sword at Bern's throat where he was kneeling on the sand with two soldiers twisting his arms up behind his back. "You can't freeze me before I kill him."

Elsa stepped back into another footprint of ice, hands clenching into fists behind her back. "Don't hurt him."

Behind her, Bern saw another soldier approaching Elsa with his sword raised, hilt first, as the waves lapping against the shore began to freeze. "Don't hit her!" he shouted. "I can tell you how to neutralize her power. Just don't hit her. I can tell you how to keep her from using her powers. Don't hit her!"

"Stop begging and say something useful," Dominic snarled at him.

"Tie her hands to mine. The magic comes from her palms and fingers. She won't use her magic if she has to hurt me with it," Bern said. "Don't hit her."

"She's not using her hands to freeze the sand and ocean right now," Dominic said.

"You've scared her enough that she's losing control, but she can't strike at you with her magic without using her hands. Don't hit her."

There was a pause as Dominic considered the idea, the blade of his sword pressing against Bern's throat. Then he nodded and the soldiers pulled him to his feet.

"Your Majesty, if you would please come over," Dominic said politely.

Elsa walked over, hands still in fists. She stepped back against Bern. He put his arms around her and spread her fists open so they were palm to palm. One of the soldiers tied their hands together with rough rope, crisscrossing the ties halfway to their elbows. The ice on the sand and shore melted.

"Now if you would care to step into the boat, we have a room waiting for you on board the ship," Dominic said, sheathing his sword and shoving Olaf away with his foot while Olaf strenuously protested.

They stepped into the boat together and sat down, Elsa tucked against Bern's side. He crossed their hands to hold her.

"You fool," Elsa whispered.

"I could either hold your hands, or watch them club you over the head. It really wasn't a close decision for me, Elsa," Bern whispered back.

"I'll have to ask you not to talk to each other," Dominic said, slipping the blade of his dagger between their faces so they jerked away from each other. "If you talk, your Majesty, we'll have to punish him, and vice versa."

Bern nodded. Dominic dragged the dagger across Bern's cheek, leaving a thin line of blood. Elsa closed her eyes. The only sound was the slap of the oars on the water as they rowed to the _Easthaven Explorer_.

Bern turned to look back at the shore where Olaf was still shouting protests about bad surprises; Dominic had marooned him. Only a few minutes ago, Elsa had spotted the frigate from Easthaven when she'd climbed to the island's ridge. She'd been nervous, but not afraid until Bern had repeated Kristoff's warning, which had slipped his mind until that moment, with the _Explorer_ already anchored offshore and two boats of soldiers rowing towards the beach, with Prince Dominic and Olaf in the lead.

"I should have hidden us better," Bern had said, wondering how they had spotted the mast of the sailboat through the rocks and beach grasses that made up the island's ridge.

"It wouldn't have made any difference; Olaf can always find me," Elsa had replied.

For that reason, she refused to freeze herself a bridge to the mainland, even when Bern insisted that he could warn off Olaf from helping Easthaven any further if she'd just leave him behind to stall them until she could get away.

Bern and Elsa were brought aboard in a bosun's chair, hands still tied. The ropes were rough with woody fibers that bit into Bern's skin, and he worked his thumbs around to shelter Elsa's hands better; at least the soldiers hadn't taken their wedding rings. Onboard, Prince Dominic waited with false courtesy as Bern and Elsa figured out how to maneuver down a ladder with their hands bound and escorted them two decks down to a small, dank storage hold without a porthole. Coiled hawsers and canvas were piled against the back wall, and the room was thick with the smell of bilge and rot. Dominic hung the lantern on a hook and gestured towards the piled supplies. "Please make yourselves comfortable."

Bern kicked at the canvas and rope and waited for the rats to scurry off.

"Councilor, I haven't forgotten you owe me a duel. It's poor form to run away like you did, so I'll choose the time and place now – we'll have that duel as soon as I have Princess Anna and don't need you any longer. Your Majesty, out of respect for your misplaced affection for your economist, you won't be allowed to watch," Dominic said pleasantly.

Elsa drew breath to reply, and a soldier raised his sword, hilt first, and moved towards Bern.

"If you speak, he'll be punished," Dominic reminded her, and Elsa let the words die unspoken. "Also, if there are any unwanted displays of ice and snow, he will also be punished, and I'll begin to doubt that I have to keep him alive to help you control your powers. You will believe me when I say that I will be avidly watching for any excuse to get rid of him; I'm not entirely convinced that you couldn't control your powers on your own if you should so choose."

Elsa looked down and away, and Bern felt her tremble. The strange heat she'd set off inside of him grew warmer, Elsa's coolness a welcome contrast that countered and contained it. Bern had the unwelcome thought that he wouldn't do very well if Elsa was taken away from him, for more than the obvious reasons. He wished he'd told her about what had happened when he'd had the chance.

"I'm afraid I'll have to leave a guard here to make sure you don't start talking," Prince Dominic went on. "If you follow instructions, he won't bother you. We'll see to your refreshment in another hour or so."

Dominic finished his speech and left. The soldier, a stout man of middle years with a hooked nose, seated himself on a stool and stared at them. Bern sat down on the pile of canvas and supplies, pulling Elsa onto his lap. Elsa closed her eyes and put her face against Bern's chest. He gave as much comfort as he could with nothing but an embrace and his cheek pressed against her head, ignoring the soldier's leer.

Bern closed his eyes. Despite the terror of being kidnapped, Elsa's magic had been restrained, compared to the displays he'd seen before. Either dancing with Dominic scared her a hundred times more than being kidnapped by Dominic, or Elsa was right when she'd told him she wasn't as susceptible to fear since her trip to the North Mountain. He took a deep, shaky breath and resolved to be as brave as Elsa.

~###~

Several hours later, heavy footsteps alerted Bern to a soldier's approach, and his stomach clenched. Their guard got up off his stool and stretched. In his arms, Elsa sat up straighter, and moved both their hands to brush her bangs back. They exchanged a look and then waited.

One of the soldiers who had tackled Bern on the beach brushed aside the canvas hanging in the opening and said, "Prince Dominic requests your company in his cabin."

Bern and Elsa struggled to their feet, hands still tied together. With a soldier ahead of them and another one behind, they made their way back on deck, towards the stern to the cabin under the quarterdeck. Prince Dominic had a desk, a wooden door, two portholes, a bed, and a fold-down table that was arranged with an inkwell and writing paper. The cabin had the unnecessary luxury of elaborate draperies covering the plain wooden walls. A glass cabinet displayed trinkets and curios from foreign ports, and there were maps on the walls. But what drew their attention was the table set with fine china, complete with a tureen of soup, fileted fish, and baskets of ship biscuit and goblets of wine. Bern's mouth was as dry as dust. Outside, the sun lowered into the west off the starboard rail; they were sailing south.

"Your Majesty, Councilor, so good of you to join me," Prince Dominic said. "I thought to offer you dinner. If you're willing to offer your parole, I'll have your hands untied."

Bern and Elsa regarded him silently.

"And of course you may speak to me, but please don't be so imprudent as to address each other," Prince Dominic added.

"We can't rightly offer you our parole since we've never been at battle and so there hasn't been a surrender," Bern said, "but if you're asking, I promise not to make an escape attempt."

"Naturally, an economist wouldn't need to offer his parole to ensure me that he is no threat whatsoever," Prince Dominic said. "However, her Majesty does need to guarantee her good behavior."

Prince Dominic regarded Elsa steadily and she nodded. "I won't attack you."

"Do you have that much control over your powers, then?" he asked.

"I said I wouldn't attack you," Elsa said. "I didn't say that I could avoid all ice and snow. I'll do what I can to keep it from threatening you."

One of the soldiers in the room used a knife to cut through the ropes tying their hands together. Both of them rubbed at the welts the ropes had left as they took a seat at Prince Dominic's table and a servant served out the soup. Bern picked up the wine glass, but set it back down without a sip. The odor was strange, and he wondered if Dominic would try to drug him. He and Elsa both waited for Dominic to start on his soup before they tried it. Bern never could eat when he was nervous, but his thirst was severe enough that he sipped spoonfuls of soup and wished the broth wasn't so salty.

"May I ask where we are going?" Bern ventured when he'd slaked the worst of his thirst. The soldier stationed behind his chair lowered his fist at Prince Dominic's gesture.

"To war," Prince Dominic said, almost cheerfully. "We're going to help the Southern Isles finally force a surrender from Lingarth that will last."

"You do know that Arendelle is on good terms with Lingarth, and our relations with the Southern Isles have never normalized after Prince Hans attempted to murder me," Elsa pointed out. "We won't be able to aid you against our allies."

"I'll choose your allies from now on, Elsa. You don't mind if I call you Elsa, do you?"

"I prefer not. You may continue to address me as 'your Majesty,'" Elsa replied.

"Elsa, then. Our betrothal agreement laid out our respective responsibilities. I would have control over foreign relations; you would be able to govern Arendelle as you see fit, within the parameters I laid down, of course, so as not to conflict with what Easthaven needs to do to consolidate its place in the world. It simply wouldn't do for my wife to think she's allied with a country I plan to conquer," Prince Dominic said. He waved the betrothal agreement in their direction and then set it back on the desk behind the table.

"I'm not your wife," Elsa said.

"The betrothal agreement is legally binding. There's just the slight detail of the wedding ceremony to take care of, but that's an easy oversight to rectify, as our ship's chaplain will do the honors as soon as Sir Lester brings me Princess Anna and you're a widow," Prince Dominic said, smiling and jovial, with eyes that glittered with hatred. "You are fortunate that I'm such a forgiving man, Elsa. Not many men would be so calm about being cuckolded even before the wedding. I can give you another chance, on the condition you never stray again. Unfortunately, your lover's life is forfeit, but we'll allow him this last meal."

Bern set the spoon down and stopped pretending to eat. "We were married before God and witnesses. I have the marriage certificate, signed by Pastor Thomas, on my sailboat, and I've no doubt you saw a marriage certificate before you came chasing after us. You're interfering with a legitimate marriage."

"Did she lie to you, Councilor? She knew she was betrothed to me. She didn't have the right to offer herself in marriage to anyone besides me; she's been promised to me since she was seventeen years old. It's your marriage that's completely invalid, not my betrothal."

"You've had four years since my father died, and you haven't said a word until now. Surely the delay invalidates the agreement," Elsa insisted.

"The betrothal agreement cannot expire. But since you asked, I'll tell you about the delay. King Agdar promised us a weapon to be delivered at the wedding. He came to us personally to tell us he had a weapon that would make us unstoppable in battle, but it was so secret that he would only reveal it to us after the wedding. Once he died, it was obvious the rest of the Royal Council had no idea what he'd promised, and we didn't know either. Without the weapon, Easthaven lost interest in pursuing an immediate alliance," Prince Dominic said.

Bern heard a slight crackle of ice and looked down. The floor was freezing. He could see hoarfrost running along the base of the walls. Surreptitiously, he noticed the soldiers seeing the ice beginning to coat the room while Prince Dominic talked and gloated.

"But then you were crowned, Elsa," Prince Dominic leaned forward with a predatory smile. "And the strangest thing happened. You froze the land. All those ships, frozen into the harbor. The crops of an entire year, destroyed in a day. You nearly destroyed your own country. Yes, a weapon indeed – but of course, a weapon is of no use if it can't be guided and used. Unfocused destruction does as much damage to the one wielding it as to his target. We kept tabs on you. Your foreign relations Councilor kept insisting you had things under control. Reading between the lines of the report he sent about your battle against the Hamarian mercenaries turned up some interesting military possibilities. So I paid Weselton to attack Arendelle. It was a test of your military capabilities, Elsa, not a real invasion. I'm happy to tell you that you passed with the highest marks. Can you guess what weapon King Agdar was going to give me as a wedding present?"

"She's not a weapon!" Bern shouted, crashing over the table to grab Prince Dominic by his jacket and shake him. "You stay away from her!"

He had time for that much before two of Dominic's soldiers grabbed him and threw him down to the floor of the cabin, smashing at his head and back with the hilts of their swords.

Both soldiers were thrown back to the wall by a blast of cold wind and a barricade of ice spikes flared between them and Bern, growing towards the soldiers who were pinned to the wall. They raised their hands and their swords clattered to the floor.

Prince Dominic laughed a low, chilling laugh. "Not a weapon? Did you see what she just did?" He walked around the table as Bern got to his feet on the icy floor. He bypassed Elsa to seize Bern by his shirt and shove him back over the ice spikes trapping the soldiers. "Get rid of the spikes, Elsa, before they hurt your lover."

"I can't," Elsa said. "And if you kill him, I'll destroy everyone on board this ship. His life is the only reason I haven't killed you already."

"Get rid of the ice, Elsa," Prince Dominic repeated, staring at Bern with hatred.

"I can't control it alone, Dominic," Elsa said angrily. "Bern was with me when I froze the ships from Weselton, and I couldn't have done it without him. If you harm him, I'm not any use to you. I can't control my magic without help, his help."

Dominic was still toe to toe with Bern, the hatred turning demonic. He threw Bern towards Elsa. She staggered back as they collided.

"Prove it, then. You've got him, Elsa – get rid of the ice or I'll call you a liar and kill him right now," Prince Dominic snarled.

Bern folded Elsa up in his arms. She leaned against him, and then the ice wisped away, the soldiers staggering at the sudden release. Bern didn't let go.

Prince Dominic schooled his features back into a smile. "This will be an interesting marriage, with three of us. Tell me, Elsa, just how much would you be willing to do in order to save his life? How long do you think he'll last if we keep using him to encourage your compliance? Perhaps some night we'll leave him a rope and let him hang himself in the hopes that you'd be willing to fight yourself free if you didn't have him hanging around your neck like an albatross."

Elsa clutched at Bern. "I never even saw the betrothal agreement, Dominic. It was my father's idea. I'm of age now, and I'll do whatever it takes to repudiate it."

"What do you mean you never saw it?" Bern asked. "You said you signed it."

"No, I said it had been signed. Father signed it; I never saw it. Father never even told me who he wanted me to marry, just that he was arranging a marriage," Elsa said.

"Do you mean her signature isn't on that betrothal agreement?" Bern demanded of Dominic.

"It didn't need to be. King Agdar had authority to betrothe her," Dominic said.

"He did when he was alive and she was underage. Personal contracts don't survive the death of the signatory," Bern said.

"A king's signature is binding on any treaty or trade agreement, even past death. Everyone knows that," Dominic sneered at him.

"Yes, when he signs as representative of a nation, that's true. But a monarch is not just the country they rule; they're individuals as well," Bern said. "I'm an economist; I know contract law better than you do. Personal agreements don't survive the death of a signatory; that was the driving force behind the entire legal code of corporations. But a betrothal agreement can only ever be a personal promise, and that one you're holding died with King Agdar. Without Elsa's signature, it's nothing but paper. You have no legal claim on her at all; no court would enforce that contract. Our marriage is binding and valid – you sin before God if you try to interfere."

Bern was expecting it, but he still grunted in pain when a soldier ripped him away from Elsa, smashed him over the head, knocking him to his knees, and then grabbed his hair and set a sword to his throat again.

"What are you willing to do to save his life, Elsa?" Prince Dominic asked. He proffered a pen, and held out the betrothal agreement. "Sign here. We'll just leave the date that King Agdar signed it."

Elsa took the pen, and shot Bern a desperate look. Bern gave a slow shake of his head. Elsa's desperation turned to sadness and resignation. She looked up at Dominic. "Spare his life. That's all I ask."

Injustice piled on injustice, and Bern felt the full weight of despair as he realized he'd gotten what he'd always wanted – Elsa's love, which would now be used to consign her to a life of slavery. He heard his mother's curse echo in his memory – _you'll get everything you've ever dreamed of, and then you'll wish you could trade your soul to give it back because your own desires will destroy what you wanted most. _

His mother never lied.

Elsa could only buy him a day or two of life; Dominic had no intention of leaving him alive once he had Anna. Then Elsa would be forced to do things that would drive her mad with self-hatred. If he died now, Elsa might fight her way free before they could bring Anna. He focused in on the heat within him, willing it to flare hot enough to kill him. Only his death could set Elsa free. The heat began to build, yearning towards Elsa. _This is what Elsa needs_, Bern assured it. As Bern surrendered all he'd ever wanted to save the woman he loved, the power in his soul chose its own path when it flared.

The betrothal agreement burst into flame. Elsa gasped and jumped back, the pen falling to the floor. Dominic batted at the flames, but the document had caught fire on all the edges at once, burning quickly into the middle. Within seconds, the betrothal agreement was only a flaming cinder on the floor as Dominic tried to stomp it out. The wooden floor caught fire immediately, flames racing towards the walls of the cabin, catching the draperies on fire. Within seconds the cabin was an inferno, blazing between them and the door.

"Fire!" cried one of the soldiers, opening the door and rushing out. "Fire!"

"Put it out!" Dominic yelled at Elsa, brandishing the sword at her.

"Tell your soldiers to release him," Elsa demanded.

"You don't set the terms!" Dominic yelled.

"Then burn! Fire can't hurt me. I'll be the only survivor," Elsa said, lifting her chin.

The soldiers holding Bern let go of him, dropped their swords and leaped through the flames to safety. Bern got to his feet, lunging towards Dominic and the sword threatening Elsa. Dominic jerked away from him, bringing him into contact with the flaming draperies and setting his sleeve on fire. Dominic screamed, throwing the sword as he started shaking his arm. He yanked off the jacket, buttons flying, and threw it on the floor. Dominic ran through the flames towards the door.

Bern dropped to the floor, coughing on the smoke. He and Elsa were the only ones in the room now. "Elsa!"

Elsa dropped to the floor next to him. She shot out a stream of ice and snow that temporarily parted the flames and they crawled towards the door, under the smoke.

Out on deck, the crew had a bucket brigade organized, winching up barrels of water to throw on the flames, which had not yet spread beyond the cabin. Dominic was vomiting over the port rail; Bern and Elsa scrambled towards starboard. Bern took a few seconds to study the pulleys holding the boat launch on deck, then yanked at the knots and directed Elsa to the other side. They needed just a few more seconds and they'd have a chance to get away in the confusion as everyone else on board fought the fire.

Elsa screamed, and the last thing he saw was the look of horror on her face before something hard connected with the back of his head and everything went black.


	20. Chapter 20 - At War

**Chapter 20 – At War**

In the windowless gloom of their floating prison, there was no way for Elsa to tell if the sun had risen or not. The hours passed slowly and meaninglessly, rocking away on the motion of the ship. She would know the time if she knew what the ship's bell meant when it sounded. Sometimes sailors passed their compartment and Elsa heard footsteps or voices. Their guard had changed, and the soldiers who had carried Bern back to the hold and tied their hands together were gone, replaced by others who were just as quiet, looking at them with curiosity and menacing her when she'd only wanted to speak to ask for water for Bern. At last, she'd managed to form bits of ice and snow at her fingertips and slip them into his mouth.

She couldn't sleep. Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw again those blurred moments on deck after Bern had fallen – Dominic standing over him with a board in his hands, the crackle of the fire eating up the quarterdeck and pouring out waves of heat that shimmered in the air that she could feel as well as anyone; Elsa had lied when she'd told Dominic the fire wouldn't harm her.

"If the ship sinks, he dies with the rest of us," Dominic had said, and so Elsa had poured a rain of ice and snow that put out the fire as sailors dropped their buckets and fled her magic; a third of the ship was now encased in ice that she refused to thaw. Let them know what they owed her, and what they should fear.

She'd knelt by Bern then, her hands desperately searching for a pulse, a breath, a heartbeat. When Dominic had reached for her, she'd thrown up a hand crackling with frost, the anger and desperation in her eyes making the threat without the necessity of words. He'd backed away, and Elsa was sure he would gladly see them both dead now.

In the gloom of the single lantern in their prison, Elsa checked Bern again as best she could. She'd pulled him onto his side rather than let him lie on the knot on the back of his head. It had swollen alarmingly, but not bled, and she wished it had. Blood from the wound wouldn't have worried her nearly as much as the blood oozing from his ears. The blood had finally stopped leaking out some time ago; she'd wiped it away with the sleeve of her dress, twisting their arms awkwardly and wishing she had a cloth and some water. Bern was breathing, shallow breaths with a pause between the inhale and exhale that made her own breath catch with the fear that he wouldn't finish the breath, and he'd groaned once, hours ago. She had no way to know if he was dying; he was so dreadfully limp. She wanted to cry, but only the guard would see and she wouldn't allow herself to be humiliated in front of these people.

Elsa wished with all her heart that she could go back two days, and tell Bern how much she loved him over and over again, and kiss him and love him and let him love her. She'd taken him for granted for so long, and she only noticed how deeply she loved him and how much she needed him when she was on the verge of losing him. If he never woke up, she was going to destroy this ship and everyone on it, including herself, because she refused to try and live without him. She never had lived without him; he'd been right there ever since her very first attempts to live life instead of hide from it, with support so quiet and constant she'd never noticed how much she leaned on him even as she pushed him away. The regret pierced her sharply.

Footsteps of many people came towards their compartment, and Elsa schooled her features into composure as the canvas was brushed aside and Admiral Wordonn held up another lantern, Prince Dominic next to him. More men stepped past him, and one knelt next to them and laid a finger on Bern's neck.

"He's alive, but not much more than that," the man said with a shrug.

"Can you wake him up, or do we have to carry him again?" Dominic asked.

Elsa drew a breath, but Dominic gave her a nasty smile and said, "Stay quiet, Elsa. You wouldn't want us to hit him again, now would you?"

Admiral Wordonn tossed a waterskin at them. Elsa took a couple swallows, and then held it to Bern's lips, pouring a few drops onto his cracked lips and then pushing it against his teeth, willing him to wake up. He coughed, moaned, and then seized the waterskin and drank it in thirsty swallows, draining the entire bag before dropping it and struggling to sit up, tugging Elsa's hands along with him.

Elsa pressed her lips together to keep back a cry of relief and kept the joy off her face – it was not for these men to witness. Bern blinked in the dim light, and his eyes wouldn't open fully. He squinted, full of confusion, and then his eyes closed again and he stopped trying to sit up.

"Get him on his feet," Dominic ordered.

Two of the soldiers stepped behind him and hauled him up, which pulled Elsa along with him. She tried to prop him up and let him lean on her, but he couldn't take enough of his own weight; she might have been able to support him, but not carry him.

"Cut him loose and drag him; she'll follow," Dominic said.

As soon as they'd cut the ropes, they dragged him out of the hold, Admiral Wordonn leading them away. Elsa rubbed at her hands and arms and went after him. As soon as they'd taken Bern, frost started to crackle around her feet. She didn't try to stop the frost; instead, she encouraged it to spread. Let Dominic worry that she would freeze his entire ship if they took Bern away from her. She just might do it, too.

Dominic stopped her with a hand on her arm. She whirled and flung it off; he stepped between her and the doorway. "You can follow him when I say so."

"He's no threat to you, Dominic, you didn't have to hurt him," Elsa said.

"He interfered with my plans." Dominic wore his red military coat with ribboned sash and a uniform sword. His brown hair fell neatly around his ears and his nose curled involuntarily against the stench of the hold where he'd imprisoned her. His hand rested on his sword hilt, his weight balanced on the balls of his feet as if he was ready to strike out.

"I won't be part of your plans." With some surprise, Elsa realized that Dominic was afraid of her; his wary stance and the wheedling tone in his voice bespoke his fear. Seeing that he was as afraid of her as she was of him removed some of her fear. Then he caught sight of the frost climbing the walls and tensed further. Almost, she pitied him for fearing the wrong things.

"You could be, Elsa; we could make those plans together. Come with me, Elsa. If you want the economist that much, I'll let you keep him as a pet, but you'll be my wife and we'll conquer the world together. We'll make Easthaven look like the squalling self-important hovel that it truly is and build an empire that will make the world envy Arendelle and its queen. I could do that for you, Elsa. What could he possibly do that I can't do a hundred times better? No one could possibly love your powers as much as I do; you won't need him for control of your magic. I've crossed the sea for love of you and your powers, you need never doubt I would wish them away or want you to be anything than what you are. Choose me, Elsa!"

He was inching his way closer to her over the icy floor, his hands outstretched to take hers. Elsa backed away from him, suddenly seeing that Dominic's fear was misplaced. He was afraid of her because of what she could do; he would do better to be afraid of her because of what she wouldn't do. She was stronger than he was, in every way that mattered.

Elsa had always feared that she was not part of the human race because of her powers, but this man was further from humanity than she could ever be, because of his choices. And with that, she fell into his heart. Dominic was not only afraid of her; he was afraid of everything he'd ever done, because of course this wasn't his first cruelty. He had a lifetime of selfishness piled up, an abyss carved deeper with every cruel choice against another person. Somewhere, in every heart, lurks the certainty that justice will have its due, whether in this life or the next. Prince Dominic's deepest fear was facing the justice of God.

With that, Elsa's fear was replaced with love for her enemy. She saw him as the blustering bully he was, and pitied him. Her own heart was calm with the certainty that she need never doubt her place with humanity again, for in Dominic's heart, she had seen what it took to cast oneself out of the human race, and she was not of that breed.

"No, I will never choose you," Elsa said simply to Dominic.

"Then you will serve me," Dominic snarled at her, and his rage overwhelmed his fear. He seized her by the arms and pulled her from the hold, and she did not fight back.

He dragged her up the ladderway and across the deck, shaking her intermittently as his fingers left bruises around her arm. Ice was spreading across the deck; sailors and officers jumping back from it, but then gingerly stepping onto it as it covered the entire deck.

There were many ships in the water around them flying the flags of Lingarth and the Southern Isles, but Elsa only glanced at them and the shoreline behind them. Her attention was fixed on the mast, where they'd strung Bern up by the wrists and left him dangling with the toes of his boots barely scraping the deck of the ship. His shirt had been cut off and left in a pile near his feet. A sailor stood next to him holding a three-strand whip of new leather. At Dominic's nod, the sailor struck him, and Bern was conscious enough to scream.

"The flogging will stop when you've done as you're told," Dominic said, and dragged her past Bern to the starboard rail. Behind them, the sailor struck again.

Out on the sea, the ships of the Southern Isles bore down on Lingarth's navy. Their own ship was running with square-rigged sails, the wind directly astern and driving them to the flotilla. Dominic pointed at the closest of Lingarth's ships. "Freeze that ship, the same way you froze the ships from Weselton. But I want you to freeze the sailors too. I want everyone in this battle to know what fate awaits them if they don't surrender immediately," Dominic said.

"That will kill the sailors. There's no need to kill the entire crew," Elsa said. The sailor struck again, the sharp crack of the whip breaking the air, but Bern didn't scream this time, gone into unconsciousness again.

"By killing all the crew of one ship, you're actually sparing the lives of many more because they'll race to see who can surrender first. We'll capture their entire navy and force an unconditional surrender at the cost of only one ship."

Elsa looked out at the ships dotting the waters around them, and then at Dominic, who was nearly salivating with greed. He abruptly released her arm. "Flogging has killed better men than him, Elsa; don't delay too long."

"You don't need to kill the entire crew, Dominic." One last offer of mercy.

"No. You kill them all."

Elsa raised her hands, closed her eyes, and focused on love, her heart and thoughts reaching past Prince Dominic to the man dangling from the mast behind him. She felt she could trust the power within her. As it had done on the North Mountain, the ice threw up a shield that stopped the arrow fired from the crow's nest as she turned and attacked the men on deck. Dominic leaped into the water with a splash before she'd gone a quarter of the way around, but her first blast of ice was aimed at the whip. She struck the sailor's hand and he bellowed in pain, staggered back several steps, and dove over the side of the ship.

She almost smiled at the sight of an admiral, ship's captain and heavily armed soldiers and sailors scrambling to get behind Bern, thinking to use him as a shield. With a flip of her hand, she sent a wall of ice skidding over the icy deck, herding them all overboard with shouts and splashes, and then the wall of ice went over the side of the deck after them, leaving a huge gap in the splintered deck rail. The archer in the crow's nest ran along the yards, and with a desperate leap, made it into the sea. Then Elsa stopped and watched, because everyone else was jumping overboard without her doing anything at all. She sent a few flurries of snow around the deck, just to add to the confusion and hurry them along.

Within a few seconds, the deck was empty and Elsa went running over the ice towards the mast. There was no knife to use to cut Bern down; instead, she climbed on a crate and wrapped her hand around the rope, pulling all the heat out until it snapped in her hands, brittle and frozen. Bern collapsed and drove them both to the deck. He was breathing, and she gulped back the tears at the sight of his bloodied back.

Elsa skated to the port rail to see if everyone was drowning, or if she should make an ice raft for them. Even when she wanted to use her powers to fight, she couldn't stomach the thought of killing people. She was indignant to find that both lifeboats were already in the water. They'd suspected they would fail, and they'd put her through all of that anyway. Just to punish them, she froze all the oarlocks with targeted blasts of ice – perfect control, even without Bern's hands over hers.

There was an intermittent sound of splashing as crewmembers who were coming up from below decks kept abandoning ship, plunging over the side to take their chances in the water. The ship's sails were fixed, and the _Explorer_ was headed straight towards the ships from Lingarth, who were undoubtedly preparing to attack. Elsa ran towards a sailor who was already climbing on the railing to jump.

"Stop!" she called out.

He gave her one frightened look and leaped.

The flag. She knew enough about naval battles from her history lessons to know that a defeated ship had to strike its colors to show its allegiance had changed. She ran to the pole and picked uselessly at the knot, then shot a blast of ice at the flag, freezing it, then bursting it apart as she did her snowflake banners. Easthaven's flag was gone, but they were still sailing at full speed into another warship who didn't know they were allies. She had to stop the ship.

Bern had called the ropes something besides ropes, and she knew they held up the sails. Elsa seized the ropes on the aft mast and drew out all the heat. The ropes shattered and the sail collapsed, billowing over the deck like the ship's shroud. Elsa clambered out from under the pile and did the same thing to the mizzen sails, and then the jib. The only ones left now where the foremast sails, but if she took those down, she would bury Bern in their smothering folds. After a few seconds of thought, she created stairs of ice and climbed up to where she could hold the sail, sending ice out over it in an even sheet, then with a blast of wind and a sharp jerk of power, the mainsails exploded in a hail and shimmer of ice and rags, blowing off the ship's yards in a cloud of white shards that covered the ship in a brief fog.

With its last sail gone, the _Explorer_ lost speed. Elsa looked towards Lingarth's closest warship and was surprised to see them adjusting sails so quickly that the ship was heeling over in its hurry to change direction and avoid them. They couldn't leave! She needed their ship's surgeon to attend to Bern, and someone from their ship to sail the _Explorer_ into a friendly port. Elsa had captured her first warship in battle, but she had no idea what to do with it.

Elsa sent a huge snowflake over the bow of Lingarth's ship. Couldn't they tell who she was? Lingarth knew they were allies with Arendelle, even if she couldn't run up a proper flag. Angry at their flight, Elsa looked around the rest of the waters and saw the battle was about to engage, a dozen ships of the Southern Isles bearing down on eight ships flying Lingarth's flag. If they got caught up into a sea battle, no one would ever come help Bern.

Elsa shot out an entire series of snowflakes to burst over the bows of the ships from the Southern Isles. When they didn't change course immediately, she sprayed out ice over their bowsprits, and then shot a line of ice back along the hull to freeze the rudder of the nearest ship. The next ship, she attacked with ice on their sails, and then a blast of wind that shattered their sails as decisively as she'd shattered their own, leaving them only a mizzen and jib sail to try and quit the battle. For the third ship, she traced a line of ice around the hull near the waterline, then thickened the ice until the sharp report of snapping wood sounded over the water. With a wave of blue sparkles, she thawed the ice and left the ship foundering as the water rushed in through the gaping crack near the waterline.

That made Elsa pull back and blink. She didn't want to kill or drown anyone, just stop the battle so they would come help Bern. The fourth ship was heaving to, showing Elsa her stern, and putting the rudder in easy reach of her ice. So she froze it. Then, to her surprise, the flags of the Southern Isles came down on the next three ships and they spilled the wind to stop their advance towards Lingarth's navy. The last few ships of the Southern Isles turned and fled as fast as they could quarter away against the wind.

The further ships from Lingarth sailed abreast the surrendering ships. Elsa saw grappling hooks flying over, and then rope ladders were thrown and the sailors began to make their way over to accept surrenders and paroles and crew the ships with their own men. That's what she needed; she needed Lingarth to come board them. There were ropes piled on the deck that might have been ladders, but there was no way she could throw them, and that nearest ship of Lingarth's was still trying to get away from them even though she'd gotten rid of their enemies for them.

She may not have rope ladder, but she could build a staircase. Elsa threw out a blast of power that crystallized into stairs as clear as diamond, with banisters, that grew into a delicate arch between their ship railing and the railing of the ship from Lingarth. The movement of the ships and sea was too violent; ice couldn't bend, only break, and within a matter of minutes, the icy staircase had plummeted into the sea. Elsa made another one. They couldn't cross on it, but surely she was getting the message across that they needed to come board her ship. She didn't want to freeze their rudder and blast their sails with ice, but she would do it if that was the only way to get them to stop trying to run from her.

After the fourth icy staircase had plunged in broken chunks into the sea, the ship from Lingarth turned abreast, and someone with a speaking trumpet stood at the rail, shouting she knew not what. She waved back and shot snowflakes into the air. Couldn't they see she was wearing a dress and crewmembers were still diving into the sea as fast as they could come up from belowdecks? Why would they think there was anyone on board this ship who knew what to do with a ship? The ship finally turned towards her, and she left the railing to check on Bern.

"Help is coming, dearest, hold on," Elsa pleaded with him. He turned towards her voice, but then collapsed again with a long sigh. Elsa froze the rope around his wrists and freed his arms. She kissed his hands and his face and went to stand at the rail again and wish the sailors would hurry.

Grappling hooks finally came sailing across, and then the rope ladders, but only two men came across, one wearing the gold bars of a captain on the shoulders of his blue coat.

"Captain Evan of the _Dauntless_," he introduced himself. "Who the devil are you and what happened?"

Elsa lifted her chin, which she had to do anyway to speak to him, and replied, "I am Queen Elsa of Arendelle, we're your allies in case you've forgotten so you needn't try and run away anymore, and I've captured this ship in battle. I need a prize crew to sail it into port, and also your surgeon to attend to my husband, who is badly injured."

He moved his hat to scratch his head and exchange looks with his lieutenant. "That makes seven ships you've captured today, little lady, and one sunk."

"You can have the ships, just send me a surgeon!"

Captain Evan sent his lieutenant back across the ropes and followed Elsa across the silent deck, even their footfalls were muffled because they walked on sailcloth, the only sound his exclamations, but even that disappeared when he came around the sailcloth that had piled up over the spars and saw the icy chaos on the forecastle deck. Elsa knelt again next to Bern.

Captain Evan looked down at them, and Elsa suddenly wondered if he believed her when she said who she was and that Bern was her husband. "I am the Queen of Arendelle, and this is my husband," she repeated.

"I've heard rumors about you and your powers," he said.

"They're true!" Elsa insisted. She took Bern's hand and pressed it to her cheek. "Prince Dominic of Easthaven kidnapped us. He was beating my husband to force me to freeze your ship and everyone on it; I chased them all into the water instead. Then I had to stop the battle so someone would come help Bern; I wouldn't have interfered otherwise because I don't like using my powers and I'm sorry that I likely scared everyone, but you can see for yourself that I didn't lose control at all. You'll point that out to people so they won't worry, won't you? I had things perfectly under control and the ice and snow only did what I wanted it to do."

Captain Evan regarded her for a long moment, and then took Bern's hand from her. "Let's get him to the captain's cabin and laid out on the bed; my lieutenant will send over the surgeon and a prize crew for you. The cabin is toward the stern," he added, as Elsa wondered which way to go. He slung Bern over his shoulders and carried him to the cabin.


	21. Chapter 21 - On Foreign Shores

**Chapter 21 – On Foreign Shores**

"The blow to his head worries me more than the flogging," Donner said, "though either could be the reason he's unconscious right now." The physician laid his hand on Bern's brow and sighed. "That's a powerfully high fever he's running."

They were in Lingarth castle, in a suite of rooms finer than anything in Arendelle Castle. When Elsa had bothered to notice her surroundings at all, she saw only that everything in Lingarth seemed to be bigger, busier, and more ornate than anything in Arendelle. Captain Evan had seen them into port. Captain Evan's surgeon had spread salve on Bern's back, then swathed him in bandages. The honor guard that the port admiral had hastily assembled as soon as he was convinced of Elsa's identity had fashioned a stretcher and taken Bern to the castle. Elsa met Crown Prince Victor and his wife, Princess Stella, but was too distracted by her concern for Bern to do much more than say who she was and ask for help. They'd sent the castle physician to follow up on what the naval surgeon had already done.

"Has he been conscious at all since the injury?" Donner asked.

Elsa had not been able to get her breath properly since Donner had said the words, "skull fracture," but she stopped choking on her fear long enough to say, "He's woken up a few times, but never all the way, and then he falls asleep again."

"He was struck yesterday evening? I'd like to see him awake by now, but there's nothing to do but wait, your Majesty," Donner said. He was a thin man with wispy gray hair framing a bald pate, past middle years, with a sharp nose and spectacles that he removed and put away now that the examination was over.

"What could be wrong?" Elsa asked, needing something more solid to worry about than what her own imagination had already suggested.

"Getting hit on the head can cause any number of problems: memory loss, confusion, blindness, difficulty speaking, palsy or paralysis."

Elsa looked at him in horror.

"Some of the worst symptoms may resolve with time," Donner offered.

Bern's father had never recovered; he'd died with those problems after suffering a stroke. Elsa took Bern's hand and stared at him with wide blue eyes.

"There, there. Physicians always have to tell you the worst. Let's not borrow trouble; no need to fret until he wakes up and we see for ourselves," Princess Stella said. "Thank you, Donner, please check back first thing tomorrow. Sarah, bring her Majesty and her husband a dinner tray, beef broth and wine for him. Ask Talma what else we should feed an invalid, and send her up. Talma is our most skilled nurse, your Majesty; she'll take good care of him. Sarah, clean clothes and a bath here as well."

Elsa ended up sniffling on Princess Stella's shoulder; she was a comfortable motherly woman in her late thirties with four children. Her husband, Crown Prince Victor, shifted his weight awkwardly at the presence of tears and suggested that he go speak to the port admiral about the captured ships sailing into port. Elsa had doubled the number of ships that needed mooring in their harbor.

Victor left, but Donner paused at the door. "I recommend complete rest for Queen Elsa as well. The strain of their ordeal may lead to nervous exhaustion."

Elsa was more than ready to believe that. She kept hold of Bern's hand; that kept the ice and snow from appearing, but there was nothing she could do about the tremors and tears.

"Would you like your own room?" Stella asked.

"No, I have to stay with him," Elsa replied.

There was a murmur of voices in the hallway, and they overheard Donner saying, "If it's a brief conversation; Queen Elsa is at the end of her strength," and then the door opened again, admitting a man as old as Donner, but more robust in build with red hair graying at the temples. Elsa thought he looked familiar, but his name was lost to her in the confusion of the past few days.

"Your Majesty, I met you briefly at your coronation. Lord Nolan of Lingarth, at your service," he said with a bow. "I had not heard of your marriage."

Gustav's friend, and now she placed him. He'd been in the ballroom when she'd frozen all Arendelle the day she was crowned; he'd also been the one who escorted Prince Hans out of Arendelle and informed them of his death.

"It was a private ceremony," Elsa said.

Lord Nolan's eyes went to the bed, and then his eyebrows went up. "Lord Councilor Bern is your husband?"

Elsa nodded.

"Your Majesty, may I write to Gustav and tell him that the two of you are here safely? I understand the circumstances were such that he may be very concerned."

"Only one of us is here safely, Lord Nolan," Elsa said, and then she started to cry in earnest.

"Write the letter, Nolan, and don't bother her further tonight," Stella told him.

"My apologies," Nolan said, and he bowed himself back out of the room.

The servants returned with trays of food. Talma was a middle-aged woman with a no-nonsense air and brown hair pulled back into a severe bun. Despite the fact that Elsa was a queen, Talma had no qualms about ordering Elsa to eat. Elsa would rather help get some nourishment into Bern, but Talma brooked no interference.

"He drank from a waterskin earlier today. He woke up enough to hold it himself and drink," Elsa said, trying to elbow Talma out of the way.

Talma quit trying to spoon beef broth into his mouth and poured a glass of wine.

"The waterskin had a drinking spout. He can't manage a goblet when he's lying down on his stomach," Elsa objected, wishing Talma would go away and let her nurse Bern herself.

"Those are only on ships; we don't have them at the castle," Talma said.

Elsa felt some vindication when the wine spilled.

Talma cleaned up the mess, then put her hand on Bern's brow, with a frown that made Elsa's heart skip a beat. "That's a dangerously high fever. I'll send for ice."

"I can help!" Elsa insisted. She took a towel from the tray and froze it, shouldering Talma out of the way to put it on his head. Then she thought that everything around him should be cooler, so she waved her hand and started a gentle snowfall just above him. "Would it help if I chilled the wine too?" Elsa looked around to get Talma's opinion, but Talma and Princess Stella had backed up to the doorway, and did not look inclined to come any closer.

"Magic, I have magic," Elsa said, and held out a hand that produced a few shimmers of snow. "That's all. I thought you'd heard of me."

Their expressions didn't change and Elsa gave up. They would have to be afraid of her if they wanted. She looked around for another way to help Bern and saw the pitcher of water on a dressing table, next to the basin that was used for washing up. She filled the goblet with water and brought it back to Bern. "Bern, I've brought you some water."

He responded to her voice, waking up enough to help hold the goblet, his eyes flickering open. "More."

Elsa poured more. Bern drank the entire pitcher of water before falling back to the bed with a sigh and going back to sleep. It seemed to her that his breathing was stronger – he didn't pause between the inhale and exhale anymore.

Elsa put a hand to his forehead and wished she could tell if he was feverish; he felt as warm as he always did to her. She turned to ask Talma to check, but they'd both fled the room. No matter; she wasn't in the mood to answer questions tonight. They'd brought her food, water to wash in, and a clean nightgown. Elsa ate, washed, changed into a nightgown and crawled into the bed next to Bern and took his hand, making ten thousand resolutions about how well she would treat him if only he would wake up and come back to her.

~###~

Elsa woke up when Bern coughed. "Bern? Are you awake?"

His eyes opened just a crack in the dim moonlight. "Elsa?"

"Yes! Yes, it's me! Oh, dearest, are you all right?"

"Waking up to you," he exhaled with a long sigh, "has always been my favorite dream."

"It isn't a dream, Bern! I'm really here. We're married now – don't you remember? Bern?"

But he had already faded out again.

Elsa barely closed her eyes the rest of the night, preferring instead to watch him sleep. He didn't stir when she traced the lines of his cheekbones and chin and memorized his features with her fingers and eyes. "You'll come back to me, won't you Bern? I didn't get a chance to love you as much as I should have."

~###~

The next morning, Talma brought them a tray of food, but hastily excused herself. Princess Stella didn't come at all. Elsa wished it was Anna and Kristoff who were here instead. Anna could charm everyone, and Kristoff would impress them. Instead, it was just her, and she'd scared everyone even though she hadn't lost control of her powers at all. That was the part that stung – they were afraid of her even though she was doing the best she could, and she'd done an excellent job, even if she did say so herself. But there were no congratulations from anyone in Lingarth for stopping the battle, or for the fact that summer still beat hot on the windowpanes. It didn't matter how well she controlled her powers, they were still going to avoid her and wish she was gone. Elsa indulged in self-pity for a few minutes, but then Bern woke up and she set all that aside to persuade Bern to eat and drink as much as he could.

"Elsa, where are we?"

"Lingarth, Bern."

He swallowed some peach juice, looked around with a vacant stare, and then asked, "This isn't Arendelle Castle, is it?"

"No, Bern, we're in Lingarth. This is Lingarth Castle."

"I've been to Lingarth before," he said.

Elsa poured him more peach juice.

"Elsa, this isn't Arendelle, is it?"

Elsa's heart sank. "No, Bern, we're in Lingarth."

She helped him lie down again, and he fell back to sleep.

They had much the same conversation the next time he woke up, his words slurring and slow. At least he could eat.

About mid-day, Elsa helped herself into a borrowed dress, which didn't even require a corset because it was too loose around the middle anyway. A servant appeared for the laundry, and did nothing but bob a fearful curtsy in Elsa's direction when Elsa asked for the physician, but then he did appear within a few minutes.

"He can't remember what I tell him," Elsa said.

Donner was running fingers around the base of Bern's skull, and had taken the bandages off his back to let the lash wounds dry out and scab over. "Does he know who you are?"

"Yes, but I don't think he remembers that we're married."

Donner nodded. "It may come back. He knows who you are, and who he is; go slowly and try not to upset him with questions or by seeming too worried. The swelling is less this morning. How much has he eaten?" Elsa told him and Donner seemed pleased to hear it.

When Donner left, Elsa carefully cooled the air around her hand and put her hand on his forehead. He did seem more comfortable that way, or at least that's what she told herself as she spent the rest of the day sitting next to him with her hand on his brow, talking to him without expecting any response. Elsa had never taken care of anyone else before; even Anna was more likely to take care of her than vice versa. Elsa didn't know what else to do besides sit and worry, so she did that the best she could, which meant she cried a lot.

The next morning, Talma brought another breakfast tray, and left again immediately.

"Bern, look, they've brought gruel and hot milk for breakfast," Elsa said.

"Is that supposed to make me want to get up?" His voice cracked and he spoke slowly, but she could understand him.

Elsa laughed with relief, then cried, then laughed some more.

"Elsa, why does my head hurt so much? And my back is so stiff."

"Try not to wonder about things like that, dearest, just eat something."

Elsa helped prop him up, and Bern did a slow and sloppy job of eating. He kept giving her curious looks, and she wished she'd taken more time combing her hair. She undoubtedly looked a fright.

"Your wedding veil had snowflakes on it," he said at last, staring at her like he was looking through her.

"Yes! Yes, it had snowflakes," Elsa said. She put her hand in his and his fingers searched out her wedding ring.

"Was the tiara made out of ice?"

Elsa nodded, keeping the tears back so as not to worry him.

"What did happen to your crown, Elsa? None of us ever dared ask."

"I threw it into that crevasse next to my palace on the North Mountain – I wasn't planning to ever go back to Arendelle, and I never wanted to be queen again."

"Do you sometimes wish I'd left you there?"

"Not anymore, dearest, not anymore. I'm so glad you never gave up on me; promise you never will."

"Promise I never will," Bern repeated slowly, and his words started to slur.

Elsa took the spoon and bowl away from him and guided him back down to the pillow. If he remembered the wedding, perhaps he would soon remember how she'd snubbed him on the only day of their honeymoon, and she didn't want him to remember that, or anything that happened after Prince Dominic captured them. Memories could be a burden, and she hoped he never would remember why his head and back hurt.

"Bern, if only you'd loved someone else," Elsa murmured, her hand cooling his brow again as he slept. He should be safely at home, in a tidy house with a comfortable wife who presented him no difficulties and was able to smooth out his life rather than complicate it as she invariably managed to do. She'd told him to go find someone else on several occasions, and it was as if she'd never spoken, and now she'd gotten him into this.

This was one of her deepest fears – she hurt the people she loved, or they got hurt because they loved her, either way it was all her fault. Bern wouldn't be injured if he'd shrugged and left when Prince Dominic arrived. Instead, he'd insisted on loving her and she'd been desperate enough to let him. This is how it had turned out – with Bern barely able to feed himself, words slurred and memory uncertain, injuries still dragging him into unconsciousness.

Her instincts were telling her to put him away somewhere safe and stay far from him, where the poisonous miasma that contaminated her life couldn't get to him again. She wanted him safe and happy, and she didn't believe he'd ever be safe if he stayed with her. But the happiness was another question.

Elsa's empathy flashed briefly through her heart with a reminder of what she already knew. Bern's deepest fear was rejection, not pain. What Prince Dominic had done was not the worst thing Bern could endure, from his point of view. The worst thing would be Elsa's rejection. Elsa could hurt Bern more than Prince Dominic ever could, just by trying to protect him and send him away. Somehow, for some reason, he wanted to be part of her life no matter what it cost him, and she knew he would willingly pay the price he was paying now, and count it well spent.

"I'm too much bother and effort," Elsa protested to her thoughts. "He deserves someone better, someone easier."

She cleaned up the breakfast tray where Bern had spilled, and dabbed a cool wet cloth over the mess of his back, cleaning up a few bloody streaks where the scabs had broken open again from the effort of sitting up. Then she sat and wished there was more she could do for him. Her heart ached to know that he would have to deal with much of this on his own and she wished she could share his burden better. If it would help him to simply sit next to him and be here whenever he woke up, then that's what she would do.

So that's what she was doing, sitting next to him, with a cool hand on his head, thinking of how much she loved him and hoping to hear his voice again, when she realized this was how Bern felt about her. She wasn't secretly wishing she could leave him and find someone who wasn't injured; she wanted him, and if these problems and difficulties became permanent, then all she wanted was to support him by whatever she could do. If he refused her help and insisted on doing everything himself, it would break her heart. The kindest thing he could do for her would be to accept her love and support and not insist she would be better off with someone else who didn't need so much help.

"Oh!" and she let the tears fall, "now I understand!"

~###~

"Are you sure you'll be all right with only the physician here, Bern?"

"Yes, queen of mine, I'll be fine."

It was four days later, and Bern had felt well enough to get up and even walk a few steps before getting dizzy, then grew curious about why they were left so completely alone. Elsa said that they'd seen some of her magic. "They haven't done more than pop in and out of the room since then, Bern."

Bern had suggested she pay them a visit, and Elsa could see the wisdom of it. It wouldn't do for their hosts to worry that she was going to freeze their land the way she'd once frozen Arendelle, and since she'd caused the worry, it was up to her to give the first reassurance. She did wish Bern could have come with her, though. She wouldn't have been as nervous about her powers if he was by her side. But there was nothing for it – he could barely stay on his feet long enough to get to the adjoining washroom.

"Do I look all right?" Elsa was in another borrowed gown, a green one that would have suited Anna better, with her hair washed, combed and braided.

"Better than all right."

When Donner arrived to check Bern's progress, he agreed to stay with Bern while Elsa left, and unsuccessfully tried to conceal his nervousness about Elsa leaving the room without warning anyone.

Elsa kissed him. Bern still seemed surprised every time she did that, and she didn't know if it was because he didn't remember their one day of honeymoon, or because he did.

Elsa wandered through corridors and down staircases, passing more servants than she'd ever seen around Arendelle Castle, and eventually found her way outside, opening a door into a closed courtyard that afforded no view of either harbor or city, but that was full of children, dirt, grass, balls and a few sticks that looked as if they might belong to a game. Within a very few minutes, Elsa had made a lifelong friend out of Princess Rose, a girl of twelve with the thin and awkward look of someone who has lately grown too fast, by making her a tiara out of ice; and won the devotion of Prince Stewart, Princess Sonia and another lively youngster who said his father was an earl, by creating a snow hill, complete with stairs to the summit and a supply of ice blocks for sliding.

Rose insisted she was too old to play in the snow castle Elsa made for several young ladyships who shrieked with delight and immediately took their dolls to their new home, but she did condescend to go inside and then come tell Elsa that she should add some furniture, which Elsa did. No adults appeared until Elsa was in an argument with Prince Stewart because she refused to double the height of the snow hill, even though he was nine years old and quite capable of sliding down something much bigger than a hill only suitable for children who did not yet know their alphabet. He rather reminded her of Kristoff.

"It's quite safe, Mother. She won't even make the hill big enough to suit Stewart," Rose comforted her mother, Princess Stella. "And did you know she's already a queen even though she's only twenty-one, only because her grandfather already died? Do you think grandfather will die before you are fifty-one? Because it must be a fine thing to be queen when you're still young enough to be so beautiful and have dollhouses made of snow."

"I hope I didn't overstep by playing with the children," Elsa said.

"Not at all," Stella replied, although judging by her expression, she wanted to say something else entirely.

A tall, blonde man came into the courtyard behind her, and called to the youngster who was sliding down the snow hill, so Elsa assumed he must be the earl. His son instead insisted his papa should come try the hill, and only left off sliding after the summons was repeated a second time in a sharper voice.

"Is Papa going to come see our snow? He would like it very much, Queen Elsa, I am sure, because he says you are the reason the Southern Isles have agreed to surrender," Rose said.

"They have?" Elsa said, startled, and wondered why they had not told her something so important.

"And Bayle is all full of himself that Papa is letting him attend the surrender conference and I'm not allowed, even though I'm very much as good at lessons as he is, only because I'm a girl. It must be wonderful to live in a kingdom without brothers, so the girls get to do the exciting things too," Rose managed to say while her mother tried to shush her.

"Bayle is in the line of succession," Stella said, by way of scolding her daughter.

"Oh yes, even worse, older brothers!" Rose said with a roll of her eyes, and then she caught at her tiara which was beginning to melt and slip along her hair.

By this time, Lord Nolan and Crown Prince Victor had also joined them in the courtyard, examining the snow hill and castle with cautious interest, and Elsa remembered the last time Lord Nolan had seen her powers, he'd seen her freeze all of Arendelle.

"Do you see how it is already beginning to melt?" Elsa pointed out, rubbing her foot along the edge of the snow slide where it had already become slushy. "It will be mostly gone by tomorrow, and you also see that there is no effect on the weather and the snow is not spreading. My magic will not harm Lingarth – you need have no concerns on that point. If you like, I can take it away right now." Elsa waved her hand and the snow slide disappeared in a cloud of blue sparkles, causing howls of disappointment from the little boys.

"Perhaps you could put it back," Princess Stella suggested.

Elsa poured the snow out of her hands as slowly as she could, letting Prince Victor, Princess Stella, Lord Nolan and the earl watch as she blew the hill into being, and then carved an icy staircase and banister, finishing up with a new pile of ice blocks.

"It's still not steep enough," Prince Stewart sulked.

~###~

"Did she leave any ice?" Bern asked the physician.

"I can send a servant to fetch some from the cold room," Donner replied.

Bern didn't stop him, even though he suspected that ordinary ice wouldn't do him any good.

When the bowl of ice arrived, Donner wrapped ice into a cloth and set it on Bern's forehead, with a comment about Bern's fever that Bern didn't bother to correct. He could tell the ice was cold, but it didn't offer the relief he needed. The fire in him was growing, becoming uneasy. Elsa hadn't gotten this far away from him since she'd lit an internal fire when she'd healed his sunburn. That was where his memories ended; several days were missing between braiding Elsa's hair on a sandy beach and then waking up in Lingarth Castle, with Elsa refusing to tell him any details about those missing days. He knew only that they'd been captured by Dominic and then escaped.

"Do you think she'll come back soon?" Bern asked.

"I hope so," the physician answered.

The heat in him felt more like a conscious force than an ordinary temperature change. There was a sense of yearning in it, both a need and a worry that craved Elsa's cool shadow. Bern stuffed down his misgivings. He couldn't tell Elsa about the strange connection she'd set off after she said her magic couldn't hurt him. She didn't want him to need her as much as he needed her; that much was obvious, and he couldn't add another demand. He could contain this on his own.

"Maybe another fire would help," Bern said, setting aside the ice. He got to his feet and fumbled for the cane they'd given him.

"I beg your pardon? Please lie down again, your Highness," Donner said.

Bern made it to the fireplace. When he reached for the matches, he knocked over the ash rake and tongs. The clatter startled him and he dropped the matches.

"Your Highness, let me call a servant for that," Donner insisted, ignoring the tools and trying to pull Bern back to his feet.

Bern put his hand down on the hearthstone, found a match, struck it and set it to the wood while Donner politely tried to stop him. "I need the fire," was all he said.

While the uneasiness about Elsa's absence didn't disappear, the fire distracted him and provided an unexpected feeling of companionship – odd to think a fire could be lonely and want company. Bern leaned his head against the edge of the fireplace and closed his eyes. The orange flicker against his eyelids felt restful.

"Your Highness, please," Donner said, still trying to pull him away from the fire. "A fever this high will impair your judgment. Please come back to bed."

"I don't have a fever," Bern said, and stayed where he was.

~###~

The children were enthralled with Elsa's magic; the adults clearly were not. After several more demonstrations of how well she could control her magic failed to reassure the adults in the courtyard, Elsa excused herself to go check on Bern. She left Princess Stella and the earl, who had never been introduced, to watch the children play in the summer snow while Prince Victor and Lord Nolan accompanied her back to her suite. Lord Nolan promptly made her homesick for Arendelle by talking about Gustav.

"No, I haven't had a reply yet to the letter I sent him," Nolan replied when she asked about it. "Even with a fair wind, the letter likely only arrived today."

Elsa nodded, and thought of another pressing issue. "Princess Rose said that the Southern Isles are surrendering, and a parley is to be held. I have an interest in those talks."

Lord Nolan looked at Crown Prince Victor, who hesitated, and then issued her a reluctant invitation to attend the conference.

"Thank you, I will. I have lately heard that the Southern Isles has warlike intentions towards Arendelle – some misunderstanding about Prince Hans' death, if my information is accurate." And then Elsa wondered if it was accurate – Prince Dominic was her source. "And I should like the opportunity to see their intentions for myself."

"They may be less inclined to warlike threats after seeing the short work you made of their navy," Prince Victor said.

"Then they may reassure me of that in person. Lord Nolan, you were with Prince Hans on his last voyage – do you have any idea why he died?" Elsa had her private suspicions, but they were too fanciful to share.

"None, and the ship's surgeon could only say that there were no injuries that would have caused his death. I know some say he was poisoned, but he had food and drink from the same source as the ship's officers and myself, and none of us were any more ill than is customary on a sea voyage," Nolan said.

"Did you talk to his brothers when you delivered his body to them? Were they upset by his death?"

"Yes, your Majesty," Nolan said, and then paused, lips pressed together and eyes darting around.

"Please be candid," Elsa said.

"May I ask you to be candid as well?" Victor interrupted. He was well into his fourth decade, and lacked laugh lines around his mouth and eyes. His forehead seemed to be used to a worried crease and the look he turned on Elsa was devoid of friendliness.

Elsa was taken aback at his tone, but then agreed.

With a glance, Victor signaled Nolan to answer her question.

"I saw only seven of his twelve brothers, and they had varying reactions to his death. Prince Hector and Prince Henry were rather disgusted with the reports of what he'd done. Prince Obadiah was the most full of genuine grief. Prince Anton and Prince Frank were more concerned about your magic than their brother's death. Prince Nels wanted to be sure the forms were correctly followed – he was the most upset at the decision he be buried in unhallowed ground. Prince Gerald refused to believe Prince Hans had tried to kill anyone. The king was on hand only briefly due to his advanced age and feebleness. I saw only disappointment from him, but then again, he is frequently disappointed with his sons," Nolan summarized.

Elsa nodded. A mixed bag of reactions would be more difficult to navigate than a united front, but it also presented some chance for change and compromise.

"Has Nolan been candid enough to satisfy you?" Victor asked.

"Yes," Elsa replied.

"Then you will be candid enough to satisfy me, your Majesty. I saw firsthand the destruction you wrought on those ships, which lent more credence to Nolan's report of the freeze you set off in Arendelle at your coronation. Up until then, I beg your pardon, Nolan, but I thought you'd broken character by exaggerating. Now I find my children playing in magical snow in the height of summer, and you wandering the castle without warning or escort. My wife tells me that you set off a snowstorm in your room shortly after arriving. I've heard from your Foreign Relations Councilor that you have control of these strange powers, but no one can say how that is accomplished. What guarantee do I have from you that Lingarth will not end in the same sort of freeze that has caused Arendelle so much difficulty?" Victor said, righteous indignation lending force to his voice and lowering his brows into something very close to a glare.

Elsa kept walking and kept her chin up. She had to, so as not to draw attention to the crackle of ice around her feet. "I regret that a traditional guarantee is not possible. My magic is bound to me and my emotions, which makes it difficult to explain the method of control. It has to do with love."

"Love?" Victor said, in the same tone he might have used to say, "fish entrails?"

They had almost reached Elsa's suite, so by the time Nolan looked down with a sharp gasp, drawing Victor's attention to the ice on the floor, Elsa was able to run to the door, calling back over her shoulder, "I'll show you!" She pushed open the door: "Bern, I need you! Please come to the door!"

Before Victor could have an apoplexy about the frozen corridor, the physician had lent Bern his shoulder and he'd walked to the door where Elsa took his hand and then waved at the ice in the corridor, which sparkled away.

"I can control the ice and snow quite well on my own now, but it's much faster when I have the help of someone who loves me, such as my husband or sister," Elsa explained. "You saw the snow in the courtyard was under my control, and is subject to the weather and will melt shortly."

Victor examined the corridor.

"Lord Nolan, it's a pleasure to see you again," Bern said, after blinking and staring at the scene in the hallway.

"Ah, yes, it's 'your Highness now,' is it?" Nolan said. "I understand congratulations are in order."

"Yes, and thank you for your hospitality."

At Bern's glance, Nolan introduced him to Crown Prince Victor, who still seemed more concerned with the corridor than with meeting Arendelle's newly wedded Prince Consort. Elsa was not impressed.

"Your Majesty, I will add an addendum to your invitation to attend the surrender conference with the Southern Isles. You may come as long as he does," Victor said with a nod towards Bern.

"He's ill!" Elsa protested, just as Bern said, "Yes, I'll be there."

"Very good," Victor said, meeting Bern's eyes for the first time. "I wish you a speedy recovery; we have a ship standing by to take you home as soon as you are well enough to travel. I beg to be excused; there is much to be done."

Victor and Nolan made their farewells, and Donner left as soon as he'd seen Bern settled into a chair. Bern kept hold of Elsa's hand and tried to hold her until she pulled away from him, too upset to want to be comforted right now. The fireplace drew her; she went to hold her hands to the flames. All the fires worked now, but she felt like she was cheating to feel warmth when she'd just left a trail of ice in the corridor.

"Elsa?"

"I'm fine!" she snapped.

"Really? I couldn't tell."

Elsa left the fire and opened the door. There was a guard there who offered to send a message or run whatever errand needed to be run so she would not need to leave her husband. Elsa thanked him and closed the door. Ice crackled across the floor and snowflakes appeared in the air. She pressed her lips together, folded her arms, and refused to cry.

"I didn't lose control at all until he started going on about how dangerous I was and demanding I guarantee I wouldn't lose control," Elsa burst out, pacing in footprints of ice. "And now there's a guard at the door so I don't sneak out again and freeze their crops or play with their children!"

She stopped and put her hands over her face. Within a moment, she felt Bern's arms go around her, as warm as the fire. The ice and snow in the room disappeared. She put her arms around him, careful of his back and held him tightly. "I did my best and it didn't do any good."

"You did the right thing to try, Elsa. Their reaction isn't your fault."

Bern started to sway and Elsa pushed aside her own worries. "You're dizzy; you shouldn't be standing so much. Come lie down again. I'll send for some food. Has the feverfew or skullcap tea helped the most? How is your head feeling? Why were you out of bed without slippers on? You could catch a chill. Is that why you lit the fire? Here, take this pillow instead; you've crushed that one flat. Does it help when I rub your neck? I told you to lie down."

Elsa fussed over Bern until she forgot about being upset at Prince Victor. She sent for food and helped him eat. She thought she was getting very proficient at nursing, even with just a few days of practice. When she set the tray aside and tried to tuck him back in, he caught her hand and pressed it to his face.

"You feel cool."

"Does it help?"

"Very much," Bern said.

"Lie down, then." Elsa slipped under the blankets next to him and kept her hand on his cheek until he fell asleep.

* * *

**Hi readers. I've had some offline schedule changes that have cut my writing time down a lot. I'm going to only update once a week (on Tuesdays) through June. I hope to be back to twice-a-week updates by July, sooner if I can manage it. **

**Just FYI, as outlined/drafted, this story is about 30 chapters.**


	22. Chapter 22 The Southern Isles Surrender

**Chapter 22 – The Surrender of the Southern Isles**

"Why did you refuse to execute Prince Hans?" Bern asked as they went over discussion points to prepare for the meeting with the Southern Isles that would be held later that day. It had been several days now since they'd been allowed to leave their suite, and while guards and attendants were quick to meet all of their needs, Elsa was still prickly about being confined to her room because of her powers.

"Surely they can't treat a monarch of one of their allies like this?" she'd protested to Bern.

"We're hardly invited guests, Elsa," he'd pointed out, with too much meekness for her to stomach.

Elsa was not willing to make excuses for Crown Prince Victor, and her irritation continued to build. But she could hardly stage a prison break, since they were being kept in luxury with multiple offers for a ship to sail them back to Arendelle as soon as Bern was well enough to travel, which couldn't come soon enough for either her or her hosts. She wished she knew what Gustav would have done if he'd been trapped in his rooms by a polite guard; the longer she was here, the more she missed her councilors and Anna and Kristoff.

Elsa was acutely conscious that she knew everything there was to know from books and very little about how people actually interacted in real life. If only she'd had more experience with people than one year out of her room had afforded her, she might be able to convince Victor that she was no threat, or that he ought to be more afraid of confining her than of letting her freely leave her suite. Bern was no help on this issue – he still got dizzy if he stood for too long and didn't want to leave anyway, though his speech and memory were improving.

"Elsa?"

"Hmm?"

"Why didn't you have Prince Hans executed?" he repeated.

Elsa set aside her irritation at Victor and tried to retrieve her thinking from last summer. It surprised her that she'd managed to make any decisions at all in those turbulent days after her storm and the revelation of who she really was.

"I didn't think he'd done anything that was that bad," Elsa said. "You all wanted to execute him for trying to kill me, and that just didn't seem like a good reason."

When Bern was silent, Elsa looked up and defended her decision further. "I didn't have the moral high ground, Bern, you can see that! It probably would have ended the winter if he'd killed me – no one knew about love when he was swinging his sword towards me, and it would have been easier on everyone if I was gone. And if you did want to execute him for what he did to Anna, then I should have been executed too. He locked her in, but I locked her out. I hurt her as badly as Hans did, worse actually, I froze her heart – he only broke it. How could I say Hans deserved to die when I deserved it too? I had to leave him alive so I could justify leaving myself alive."

Elsa paused then, and forced herself to wait to give Bern time to pull his thoughts together and find the words he wanted. She could have said his thoughts for him on this issue more quickly than he could, actually, so she decided not to wait after all.

"You don't have to tell me I'm wrong, because I know I was, but you asked what I was thinking a year ago, and that's what I was thinking. I'm a different sort of person than Hans, but I didn't know that back then like I know it now. I don't think anyone knew that at the time, except people like you who wanted to think well of me no matter what, which means your judgment is questionable. Although I appreciate the vote of confidence, you had no way of knowing that I wasn't as bad as Hans. It's just luck that you turned out to be right," Elsa said.

She could almost see his thoughts stop and then try and regroup and go a different direction. She still knew what he was going to say, so she replied to it without waiting for his words.

"You had no way of knowing that I was any better than Hans, and I won't believe a word you say to the contrary," Elsa insisted.

"Would you," and then the rest of the sentence was lost in a look of frustration and a stammer.

Elsa reproached herself for breaking all of her resolutions to be patient. "I'm sorry. I'll wait. Take as long as you need."

"I was going to say that you can't tell that reason to his brothers," Bern said. "If we give them any reason at all, it needs to be a political reason, and not a personal reason."

Elsa fidgeted, and got up to pace. There were snowflakes in the air again. The tension of feeling locked in was beginning to build, and she couldn't let go of her anger at Victor and Stella for being frightened by her powers when she hadn't lost control at all. Everyone in Arendelle accepted her powers now that she had control of them, and it was nerve-wracking to be in Lingarth and starting over with people who didn't understand and accept her. She hadn't noticed before how much of her control was drawn from the acceptance of everyone around her, not just Anna and Bern, but everyone in the castle and more and more of Arendelle's population. She belonged in Arendelle, and the need to leave Lingarth was becoming more and more pressing.

"Snowflakes, Elsa, come here," Bern said, and held out a hand from the bed where he was sitting, propped up against pillows.

She dropped onto the bed next to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. The wounds on his back had healed into crisscrossing pink scars by this time, and she could hold him again. The snowflakes disappeared.

"What's a political reason for not executing Prince Hans?" Elsa asked, and stayed where she was.

"As a goodwill gesture, you returned him to his brothers, knowing that they would make sure justice was done," Bern suggested.

"Do you mean we're going to claim to be the only people on earth stupid enough to think the Princes of the Southern Isles have any morals at all? Gustav would be appalled at us."

"Or perhaps we don't give them a reason," Bern said.

"That sounds better."

They dropped the conversation in favor of kissing. Technically, they were still on their honeymoon, and were left almost entirely to themselves. Bern was getting stronger – his arms were tightly around her, his hand sliding up her back and into her hair, and there was nothing tentative about his kisses. She was lecturing herself about all those resolutions she'd made about treating him better when someone knocked on the door.

With a gasp, she sprang off the bed and smoothed down her hair while he straightened his collar and made comments under his breath about how they'd had no interruptions in three days, and questioned the universe's bad timing.

It was Lord Nolan, with very bad news. "I regret to tell you that the letter to Gustav was not delivered. It appears that soldiers from Easthaven control Arendelle Castle, and my messenger had no way to deliver the letter to Gustav without giving it to those same soldiers. He picked up quite a bit of information from the populace, if you care to hear his report."

Elsa and Bern were very interested in his report.

The messenger told them Sir Lester and Major Felix had occupied Arendelle Castle three weeks ago with the two hundred soldiers that Prince Dominic had brought with him under the guise of training exercises. The village was awash in foreign soldiers, although business was allowed to continue. No one had access to the castle other than deliveries, and no one had seen any members of the Royal Council. Most of the Castle Guard were being held in a stockade hastily built north of the village. There were rumors that Princess Anna was missing, and more rumors that she was being held prisoner in the castle, and yet more rumors that she'd gone looking for Queen Elsa, and even rumors that she'd eloped with Kristoff and run away to Hamar. Sir Lester and the soldiers were searching houses and the mountains looking for her. The news about Kristoff was not a rumor at all – everyone was very definite about the fact that he'd been seriously wounded in a duel with Sir Lester, and no one had seen him since.

Elsa reassured the messenger that he'd done the right thing by not delivering the message, and then began making plans to return to Arendelle. If Kristoff was alive and well, he would have already defeated Easthaven. Something was terribly wrong if he hadn't.

"The surrender talks with the Southern Isles are scheduled to last several days," Lord Nolan said.

"I'll attend this afternoon, but I want to leave tomorrow. Can that be arranged?" Elsa said.

"I'm sure of it," Lord Nolan said.

Elsa thought that they'd be happy to help her leave this minute. "Will you continue to care for Bern until I can send for him?"

"What? Elsa!"

"Don't argue with me, Bern. You're in no condition to travel, much less take on two hundred soldiers and a missing princess," Elsa said.

Lord Nolan discreetly withdrew at this point, with assurances that they could accommodate either further nursing, or traveling, whichever her Majesty should decide.

Elsa sternly brought up all the reasonable points about why Bern should stay behind, and Bern stubbornly insisted on being unreasonable and coming anyway.

"And you can stop looming over me," Elsa said, resisting the impulse to take a step back.

"Looming? Is that what I'm doing?"

"Yes, and it's not all that hard to be taller than I am, so I don't know why you're so proud of it, and," And then he was kissing her.

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you are when you're angry?" Bern said when he let go.

"You don't get to win an argument by doing that!" Elsa protested.

"Do you mean I won?"

"No, you lost, but you don't get to think you won either!"

"You could leave me my delusions, just to be nice," Bern said.

She was upset about Arendelle, nervous about meeting the Princes of the Southern Isles, angry at Victor for setting a guard on the door, frustrated with Bern for not admitting he couldn't travel yet, and ashamed of herself for not wanting to kiss him back after she'd resolved to be nicer. So when he did pull her in for another kiss, she let him, and even kissed him back, hoping he'd finish the kiss and then they could talk again.

Instead, he pulled her off her feet and backed up towards the bed. When it hit him behind the knees, he fell onto it, tumbling her with him and fumbling at the buttons on her dress. Elsa scrambled away, all her resolutions dissolving.

"Elsa! It's our honeymoon!" Bern said, frustrated enough to run his fingers into his hair so he could pull it. "It's been weeks; I'm finally well enough again. I mean . . . you're really going to say no?"

"You have terrible timing, Bern. We just found out Arendelle is occupied by enemies and in a few hours I'm meeting a whole bunch of people who want to invade us and think I poisoned their brother. And I know it's our honeymoon, but I think you're being selfish and unreasonable about things. I was going to try and be nicer, but I didn't expect you to be so demanding!" Elsa replied, arms folded and lips pinched, stepping back further from the bed.

"Demanding? I'm selfish and demanding?" His expression was all exasperation.

"Yes! And I didn't expect you to be that way at all because you're usually so nice, but I just can't do it, Bern!"

The exasperation fell away, and now he just looked tired.

She felt guilty enough to defend herself. "Twins are going to be bad enough, Bern, even with Gerda to help us. But I just can't handle triplets! You can't ask me to do that! Most women only have one baby at a time, and I was surprised enough that you wanted twins and didn't even ask me about it, but I have to draw the line!"

And now it was shock. "You're already pregnant?"

Good heavens, didn't the man know anything? "I know where babies come from, Bern, and we . . . you know . . . twice already. I just can't handle three babies at once and . . ." her words fell away as Bern looked like he was about to chew his bottom lip off and explode.

She watched, highly offended, as Bern buried his face in a blanket and laughed until he cried. She would excuse his rudeness only because of his head wound. After a few minutes, she decided not even that was a good enough excuse for the way he was carrying on. "Would it help if I slapped an ice cold towel over your head?"

With a whoop and a gasp and a heroic effort, he stopped laughing. It took several more minutes and a solemn oath to not even try and kiss her before she would consent to sit next to him. Really, she felt a little bit injured. Bern had never laughed at her before, and certainly not like that.

He asked a few questions, and Elsa confessed that all she knew about where babies came from was the result of one very awkward conversation with Gerda when she was twelve years old and terrified she was bleeding to death. "I haven't even seen a baby since Anna grew up. Well, I've seen some villagers holding babies, but that's all," she finished.

Bern wasn't laughing at her anymore; he wasn't even smiling as he explained more about where babies came from and how often. Instead, he was looking at her like she was made of blown glass and needed to be wrapped up in cotton batting. She scowled at the blanket while embarrassed tears pricked her eyes. This was apparently another one of those things that everyone else learned because they didn't spend thirteen years alone in a room. "Mother never talked to me, you see. Gerda was as embarrassed as I was, so neither one of us wanted to talk about it again. I couldn't ask my tutor or father. I never saw anyone except those four people."

"I'm sorry I laughed at you, Elsa. I wasn't making fun of you. It was mostly relief – I was so worried you only wanted to be friends even though we were married. I wish you'd asked earlier," Bern said.

Elsa nodded. "I didn't know I needed to ask about it. I thought it was something I already knew." She picked at lint on the blanket until she had a little fuzzy pile, her insides going all fluttery about the idea that Bern would expect to make love more often than once per baby. The silence grew between them until Elsa decided to talk about the more pressing issue. "You'll have to come with me to Arendelle, Bern. I don't even know what I don't know. I can't get along without you." She kept picking at lint and scowling. What had she thought she was going to do? Creep into Arendelle in disguise and wander the mountains until she found Kristoff, if he was even up there? The Easthaven soldiers would capture her within minutes. They wouldn't even need Bern as a hostage to keep her from using her magic – any of the villagers would do.

Bern put an arm around her shoulders and she leaned back against his chest. "It's all right to need me, queen of mine. We'll make an unstoppable combination – between your naiveté and my head wound, Easthaven won't know what hit them."

~###~

Elsa had gotten used to Anna attending Council meetings, and Lady Councilor Marda was always there too. It was strange to be the only woman among all these princes and military advisors, except for the servants. Soldiers lined the walls, in spotless uniforms and swords. There were a couple of advisors who looked about Bern's age, and everyone else in the room was older than she was as well, except for Prince Bayle, a reedy boy of about fourteen years of age with spots and the nervous habit of licking his lips every few seconds. He sat on the other side of Bern; they were as far away from Prince Victor as he could put them. Elsa wished Princess Rose was here instead of her brother.

Crown Prince Victor barely acknowledged their presence, but Fleet Admiral Theron was effusive enough to make up for it. He heartily congratulated Elsa on her victory, not even hesitating to take her hand when she offered, inquired after Bern's health and complimented his heroism, which surprised Bern because Elsa still refused to tell him how he'd gotten injured. He waved his aides over and introduced them, being so welcoming that eventually others came forward to speak with Elsa and Bern. Prince Victor was eventually shamed into a show of congeniality that didn't fool Elsa at all, but she did enjoy his discomfort.

Admiral Theron inquired about Elsa's plans for the ships she'd captured, and was very generous in offering to lease the ships from them as long as it was convenient, and perhaps loaning officers to Arendelle to help train a navy, when Elsa admitted they didn't have anyone who could sail warships. The more Elsa saw of her allies, the less she wanted to rely on them anymore, and she was gratified to have Admiral Theron's help and advice. When he mentioned that he was cousin to Lord Nolan, and had met Gustav several times when he visited Lingarth, Elsa decided she'd made a friend.

This sustained her through the introduction to the six Princes of the Southern Isles: Hector, Anton, Frank, Nels, Gerald and Obadiah. Their anger and fear towards her was a palpable presence in the room. Bern put a hand on her arm, and she stopped worrying she would freeze the floor.

As Elsa listened to the tenor of the discussion flow around her, she concluded that this was better called a cessation of hostilities rather than an outright surrender. There was no admission of wrongdoing, or even substantial reparations to be paid. The Southern Isles and Lingarth agreed to return captured soldiers and sailors. Elsa was puzzled by Crown Prince Victor's tone of reconciliation. It seemed to her that the Southern Isles would simply invade again, that this was merely another round in a longstanding attempt to conquer them, and she wondered why Victor didn't take steps to keep the Southern Isles from starting the war again next year.

"And because the ships were captured by witchcraft instead of following any of the forms and rules of civilized warfare, we request our ships be returned," Prince Anton said.

"I'm sure that can be accommodated," Victor replied.

"I'm sure that will not be accommodated!" Elsa interrupted. "Those are my ships. While I appreciate Lingarth providing mooring for them, the ships belong to Arendelle. I captured them in battle after an act of war perpetrated upon us by Prince Dominic of Easthaven, who is allied with the Southern Isles."

Prince Anton began to flush red and Prince Hector stepped in. "We wouldn't ask for a return of ships fairly won in battle, but witchcraft changes the rules."

"Witches don't play by the rules of humans," Prince Frank said.

Bern got to his feet. "You will withdraw that remark, and any suggestion that Queen Elsa is a witch."

There was a moment of strained silence, during which Elsa cursed Bern silently for risking another duel, and then Prince Frank shrugged and said, "I withdraw the remark."

Victor rushed into the gap as Bern sat down again. "If the Southern Isles would like to meet separately with Arendelle, we will facilitate the meeting, but the topic of the ships does not concern Lingarth."

Elsa thought that was a cowardly conclusion, but she was beginning to see why Victor wasn't grateful that she'd won their war – she hadn't won it at all, just caused a delay and a different set of problems. She noticed that Admiral Theron's face was carefully blank, and she wondered what he would have said if he'd had the rank to challenge Prince Victor.

"We can always hope that Arendelle will be reasonable," Prince Frank murmured, again under his breath.

"But it is Arendelle, so that hope is misplaced," Prince Nels said, also quietly enough that they could pretend not to hear.

"Arendelle is reasonable, but if you choose to ally yourselves with someone who is willing to kidnap a queen and attempt to kill her husband to force her to win your battle for you, then you deal with the consequences," Elsa snapped out, unwilling to pretend she hadn't heard them. "You had no qualms about Prince Dominic's plans to use my powers to destroy Lingarth's navy – you brought destruction upon yourself by your own poor judgment, and you would do better to repudiate your alliance with Easthaven rather than try and bully Arendelle into giving up the ships I won in battle."

The rest of the men at the table, who had not heard the whispered exchange between Frank and Nels, turned to stare at them.

"Your Majesty, if it isn't too much to ask, I would prefer you adhere to the rules of order rather than interrupting the discussion," Victor said.

"Withdraw, Elsa, you were out of order," Bern whispered.

She almost flashed back at him, but then realized she would discredit herself further if she caused a scene in a fit of temper. "I regret my interruption," Elsa said stiffly, and Victor nodded, before turning back to Prince Hector, who was arguing about the wording on the document they were all signing to put an end to the hostilities.

Prince Nels had the temerity to smirk at her from behind his hand, where she could see it, but no one else could.

Elsa fumed a bit longer, but soon her dismay at this charade overcame the personal pettiness from Prince Nels. It was all a travesty of polite fictions; there was no real resolution of differences or an agreement to interact differently in the future. This conference was nothing more than a set-up for their next war.

Arendelle didn't belong here. All she really wanted was an assurance from the Southern Isles that they didn't plan to invade Arendelle, and then she could leave them to their on-again-off-again war.

The hours passed slowly, and she even gave up trying to exchange looks with Bern. He wasn't paying attention, seemingly fascinated by the grain of the wood on the table, and occasionally tightening his grip on her elbow to the point that she had to ask him to be careful. He must be getting tired.

Victor, at last, began to bring the meeting to a close.

Elsa spoke up. "May I have the floor?"

Victor grudgingly allowed Elsa to speak.

"I am here because I have received intelligence that the Southern Isles may have warlike intentions towards Arendelle due to a misunderstanding about the circumstances surrounding the death of Prince Hans." Elsa had been rehearsing that line in her mind for an hour now. "I would assure you that Prince Hans was alive and well when he left Arendelle, and we all assumed he would safely reach the Southern Isles. We were surprised to hear he had died. I am sorry for your loss." She forced out the last sentence of insincere regret simply to avoid asking straight out if they were going to invade Arendelle.

"You put him in a cell on trumped-up charges of regicide," Prince Gerald began.

"They were not trumped-up charges," Bern interrupted him. "I was on the castle balcony and saw for myself when Prince Hans drew his sword and approached Queen Elsa, who had collapsed on the ice and did not even see him coming. I saw him swing that sword at Princess Anna, and only an hour previously he had told the entire Royal Council that Anna had died. Prince Hans attempted to kill two women, a despicable crime even if they were not of royal birth. I saw it myself."

Prince Gerald was not quite bold enough to defend his brother's innocence against an actual witness to his guilt.

"And yet they are alive and our brother is not," Prince Obadiah said.

"Sorcery and witchcraft," Nels hissed.

"Sir Lester said you poisoned him. We'd all been thinking you cast a spell on him," Prince Frank contributed.

"Sir Lester?!" Elsa exclaimed, and then wondered why she was surprised. Easthaven had paid Weselton to attack them – it was no great stretch for them to plant rumors to persuade the Southern Isles to attack them as well. Then she gathered her thoughts and responded to the accusation. "I neither poisoned him nor cast a spell on him."

"You've no way to prove that," Frank said.

"You've no way to prove the contrary!" Elsa replied.

"My brother is dead and the blame lies with you," Obadiah insisted.

"The blame lies with Prince Hans and no one else," Bern said. "But as Prince Frank pointed out, there is no way to prove it, and no point in discussing it further. Arendelle conveys its regrets yet again for your loss, and would ask for an assurance that you will not invade out of some misguided notion of revenge. We need not be enemies."

"Maybe we'll invade to get our ships back," Anton said.

"Go ahead and try. I'll take your whole navy," Elsa snapped at him.

"Witchcraft!" Nels shouted at her as Victor brought the gavel down in an attempt to rein in the discussion.

"You'll bring the whole world down on your head – you're too much of a threat and you can't fight all of us forever," Hector said. "You start using those powers to defeat your enemies, and you'll find an unbroken string of people lining up to invade Arendelle solely to get rid of you and the threat you are to the entire world. Will you kill us all? Is that what you'll do? Freeze all our countries, starve our populations, kill anyone who opposes you? Is that what you want to do with those unnatural powers of yours? Say you're that much of a threat and we'll put a bounty on your head, crown or no crown. No one can wield the power you have and think you can get away with it."

"Arendelle wants to be left alone! We didn't come out here and invade you – Prince Dominic kidnapped us. I've never harmed anyone outside my own country; even the freeze at my coronation ended well within our borders. I don't want a war with anyone, but I'll fight back if you attack us!" Elsa said, her voice strained with fear at the insinuations and threats Hector had made.

"Enough of this! Prince Victor, I respectfully request the right to speak." Admiral Theron had gotten to his feet and was leaning over the table in an effort to interrupt them. "Anyone has the right to defend themselves when attacked, and whether you want to acknowledge it or not, Prince Hector, all of you were eager to use her magic against Lingarth. You've only turned on her because she attacked you instead of aided you."

"Prince Dominic was willing to marry a freak like her, and she tried to kill him instead. We fished him out of the water, barely alive, and he told us she tried to kill every man on deck. Does that sound like self-defense? We thought she could be controlled by reasonable means!" Hector shouted back at him.

"Dominic was killing my husband! He ordered a sailor to beat Bern to death unless I froze the ship from Lingarth and killed their entire crew. I didn't kill anyone! I chased them all into the water instead! And I'd do it again!" Elsa said, getting to her feet to emphasize her words, and Bern wasn't fast enough to get up with her.

As she broke contact with him, the table froze under her hands, ice racing out in a sheet that covered wine goblets and coffee cups as the men scrambled back from the table, knocking over chairs in their haste to get away. Bern lunged to his feet and grabbed Elsa. She took a deep breath, and sparkles swept over the table, thawing it as quickly as it had frozen.

Victor sputtered, and even Admiral Theron looked taken aback. The Princes of the Southern Isles rounded on her, looks of anger and fear on all their faces.

"She'd do it again, you heard her say it!" Nels said.

"What are you?" Hector demanded of Bern.

"Your Highness, clear the room!" Admiral Theron ordered Prince Victor.

Victor was quick to see the wisdom of that, and a dozen of Lingarth's soldiers escorted the Princes of the Southern Isles back to their rooms. Another dozen of Lingarth's soldiers escorted Elsa and Bern back to their rooms as well.

And while they were surrounded by a dozen men, not one of them offered to help them – Bern leaned heavily against Elsa, stumbling when they reached the stairs, and nearly walking into a wall before she pulled him away. It was when he ran into a table in the hallway that Elsa forgot her own anger long enough to admit that she suspected what was wrong with Bern.

"Bern, how much can you see?"

"Patches, here and there," he said.

Elsa bit her lip and thought about all the food he'd spilled these past few weeks, and the way he sometimes stared at things without seeming to see them. "Why didn't you say so?"

"I hoped it would get better. It has gotten better – it's just that my head hurts so much right now," Bern said.

"You will send for the physician," Elsa ordered one of the soldiers as she guided Bern to the couch in their room. When he hesitated, she added, "Or I will find him myself."

Donner was at their suite within minutes. Talma followed soon after with a tray of tea – a ginger infusion against nausea, and another of feverfew against pain. Bern confessed to double vision, and that how much he could see depended on how tired he was, and whether or not his head hurt. He insisted this headache had come on suddenly and promised to be better in the morning. Donner insisted he spend the next day in bed, but then Admiral Theron arrived.

"I've come to inform you that a ship will take you to Arendelle tomorrow," Admiral Theron said, his voice full of the apology he couldn't say in words.

They welcome their enemies and banish their allies, Elsa thought bitterly, and agreed they would leave. She wanted to go home to Arendelle so badly it almost hurt. Through a fog of pain, Bern nodded.

Late that night, when the only light in the room came from the starlight sprayed across the sky like flecks of ice, Elsa finally let herself cry because they'd called her a freak and a witch. She never could grow accustomed to being hated.


	23. Chapter 23 - Those Without Souls

**The cover art is finished! Many thanks to nirnaeth12 for her talent and hard work. You can see the full-resolution version on her page at deviantart by searching for her artist name "Deidale." It's certainly worth looking it up and seeing all the details.**

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**Chapter 23 – Those Without Souls**

**Seventeen years ago . . . **

Raghast stood at the entrance to the cave, watching the human man pick his way over the rocks and boulders, occasionally pausing to carry the small girl over a rock too big for her to climb. Behind him, Horrd and Thain were setting out the basin, knife, tools and incense they would use for the spell. The cave was already thick with the smell of magic, a burned and cloying stink that clung to the back of their stone throats and teased them with the promise that what they wanted was only one more effort away from fruition, if only they tried again. The frustration of that surety caused them more agony than all else put together. If one could be sure of failure, then the effort could be laid aside, but while that promise of success lingered like a stench, it drove them to keep going, past all semblance of rationality. It wouldn't have mattered if they knew they'd devoted their lives to a lie – they had nothing else to do with their lives.

Today was a new effort, one they'd never tried before. Down all the endless years of their search for a soul, this was the first time they'd thought to trap a human soul. Humans were born with souls; trolls had to earn theirs, and Raghast was a cave troll, banished from the Valley of Living Rock by Grand Pabbie, who kept the soul that had given him consciousness even as he'd forced him to leave.

Existence without a soul was a crushing burden of loneliness and uselessness. They'd grown used to that state. At times, the drive to find a soul was more habit than anything else; no one even knew what a soul would feel like, besides the vague idea that it would feel better than what they felt now.

It didn't seem fair to any of them that humans came with souls, without any effort on their part. One of them ought to be willing to give up their soul to even out the injustice, and Raghast had seen the possibilities when this human came to them, asking for the spell of ice and snow. They'd created the ice spell to focus the cold as bait to draw the heat of the earth fire and trap it for their use. Heat can't stay away from cold. By all rights and logic, it should work, and yet it had never drawn the earth fire to them. They'd eventually discarded the spell and moved on to other ideas, but the human witch knew about the ice spell, and now this man had come asking for it. He offered to pay blood, which caught their interest. Humans had blood and trolls didn't. It followed that the soul was contained in the blood. Horrd would have refused anyway. They didn't want this man's soul; like all evil creatures, they mistrusted anyone who would seek them out. This man's soul was too shrunken and twisted to do them any good.

It was Raghast who thought to say that the blood payment had to come from someone who loved him. That would give them the blood of a healthy soul. The man agreed, and now he was returning, leading a girl around another boulder and steadying her with a hand when pebbles rolled beneath her foot. She clutched a handful of wilting flowers and looked around with interest.

"Why are we here, Papa?"

"We're getting something very important to Arendelle, and I need you to help me," the man answered.

"I'm your best helper, aren't I, Papa? Anna's still a baby," the little girl said proudly.

Then she caught sight of Raghast and hid behind her papa's leg with a gasp of fear, eyes shut tight. Raghast stared at her. He wasn't any taller than she was, hair the color of moonlight floating in wisps around her head where it had escaped her braid, her tiny and delicate hands clutching her papa's trousers.

"You need to be brave, Elsa," her papa admonished her, pulling her off his leg and forcing her out in front of him again.

"Yes, Papa," she agreed, eyes still shut tight.

The human sighed and picked her up, where she buried her head in his shoulder and wrapped her legs around his waist. "Is it ready?" he asked Raghast.

"Yes," said Raghast. Humans were always in a hurry. He supposed it was because they didn't live long enough and had to get things done before they died.

Raghast led the man into the cave. He had to duck almost double to get past the entrance, and then straightened up inside. Dozens of cave trolls looked up in curiosity as he came in. Raghast paid them no mind and led the man towards Horrd and Thain, who had the basin filled with snow on a rock, centered inside a diagram sketched with ink made from charcoal and lamb's blood. The incense burning around it was already pulling an unholy glow from the diagram as the magic began to take hold. The man shifted the girl to see better.

"Payment first," Raghast said, and held out a jar. "Fill it."

The man pried the girl off of him and set her on her feet. He took her hand and the knife Thain handed him and sliced the girl's hand right below the thumb. "This is how you're going to help me. We need just a little blood, Elsa. I'd never hurt you, and this doesn't hurt, does it?"

The little girl shook her head, lips trembling with suppressed tears, as the blood dripped off her hand and into the jar the man held. When that hand stopped bleeding, he cut the other one and collected more blood, holding the girl's hand tightly.

"There," he said, handing the jar to Raghast.

Raghast put the stopper in the bottle and nodded to Horrd. Horrd started the incantation, words mingled with the smoke of incense and the glow of the diagram as he chanted over the bowl of snow in a guttural voice made darker by the words he spoke and the power he called. Deep inside the basin, the snow began to glow blue as the magic unlocked its origins. Raghast watched it, waiting for the glow to turn white with the exposed origins when its power was vulnerable to exploitation and capture. The man's hand hovered over the basin, his lips drawn back in a grimace of greed.

The blue faded to white. Raghast almost spoke, but the girl plunged her hands into the snow with a whimper of pain. At the man's angry shout, she clapped her hands to her eyes, knocking the basin of snow off the rock to spill over her feet.

Horrd fell silent. The incantation had accomplished its purpose and was ended. They watched as the man tried to gather the snow back into the basin while the girl cried. With the incantation spent, it was nothing but snow now; there was no power left in it for him.

"This isn't what I paid for!" he shouted at the cave trolls.

"You paid for a spell. Not our fault the girl took it from you," Raghast said, uncaring. They had the blood they wanted.

He might have shouted more, tried threats or pleas, but the dozens of cave trolls who had been sitting by the walls were pushing forward now, wanting to see the blood. They'd never had blood in the caverns before.

"Leave," Raghast said.

Raghast recognized the expression on the man's face, knowing he'd been so close to what he wanted and then failing entirely. They did it all the time, with each new attempt to trap the earth fire. He was too much like them to hold onto his soul either. Fortunately, they had the blood of a healthy soul, or it had been healthy when she'd bled. Now it was damaged by her father's selfishness, and frozen by the magic. Not much of a soul left for the girl either, just a life of loneliness like they all had, wishing she could connect with others and never knowing why it couldn't happen.

As soon as the humans were out of the cave, the cave trolls gathered around, pushing and cursing each other in their determination to see what was happening. Horrd was already pouring the girl's blood into a stone bowl. Raghast stooped and cleaned up the snow the girl had spilled. Her blood had mingled with this snow as well, even if it was only the few drops that clung to her hands. The incantation had wrung this snow's origins from it, and now it was frozen without the ability to melt no matter how warm the air around it became. Raghast piled it into the basin again and set it aside while he watched Horrd.

The girl's blood waited in the bowl while Horrd chanted incantations, attempting to bind the human soul to himself. Nothing happened. Anger broke out among them, and they fought viciously while others demanded a share of the blood to try their own spells. Horrd was overpowered and the stone bowl taken by too many hands. No one knew who spilled it, all eager to blame the other for pulling and shoving too hard. The blood flowed in rivulets over the stone floor, seeping into cracks and crannies even as they scraped stone fingers through it, trying to stop its flow before it escaped. In the end, there was only a stain on the floor that they drew diagrams around, trying to trap its power.

Raghast stayed out of the way as the cave trolls hissed and spat with fury at yet another failure. Raghast suspected that human souls would never respond to magic either, disdaining their attempts the same way earth fire spurned them. They would try again only because they wouldn't admit defeat.

Their anger and hatred spent, the cave trolls rolled up into rocks, settling in to pass a few years before their next attempt. Raghast did not roll up again; he wanted to sit and watch the weather. Their ice spell was out there in the human world now. He waited until the sunset, and then the sunrise, and the human world didn't freeze. Perhaps the magic could not bind to humans any more than a soul could bind to a cave troll. Raghast pushed himself off the ledge and went back into the cave, littered with round rocks now.

There was a glow in the back of the cave, red and warm. Raghast followed it to the basin of spell snow that he'd saved after the girl had spilled it. Wrapped around the basin was a pool of glowing fire, and yet the snow in the basin did not melt. The ice-baited trap had finally worked and after uncountable failures had finally called forth this earth fire and captured it.

Stumbling with shock and greed, Raghast hurried to the earth fire and dipped his fingers into it. It didn't bind to him, but it didn't flee from him either. Raghast looked around to make sure none of the other cave trolls were unrolling to see what had happened; he didn't want anyone else to know that all their efforts to summon earth fire had finally worked. The others would fight and spoil it, the way they'd spoiled the blood. It must have been the blood, mingled with the spell snow, that called forth the earth fire. Raghast siphoned the earth fire away from the basin of spell snow into a bowl and took it to the corner of the cave where the diagrams were already drawn and the incense was ready. He said spell after spell to try and bind the soul to him, but the earth fire remained impassive, until in a fury of temper he threw the bowl and the contents splattered down the wall.

Raghast went to watch the weather again, waiting for a freeze. When he returned to the cave, the earth fire had again wrapped itself around the basin of spell snow, which was as frozen as ever. It would have made more sense to him if the earth fire had sought the bloodstain on the floor, because that was the blood they'd taken before the girl's soul had been damaged so badly. Why the earth fire would seek out the damaged soul was not something Raghast could understand, but every time he moved the earth fire, it returned eventually to the bowl of spell snow, which never melted or even grew warm despite the heat around it. As weeks passed and he gave up on getting the earth fire to bind to him, he made a game of it, seeing how far away he could move the earth fire, or how widely he could splatter it. With time, the earth fire always gathered itself up and returned to the spell snow, which continued in its isolated, cold refusal to notice the earth fire's attempts to warm it.

Raghast considered alerting the others to the earth fire, but the thought was gone as soon as it had come. They would take it away and try their own experiments. Even if he couldn't get the earth fire to act as his soul, he wasn't willing to share the chance with anyone else. But as the months passed, he grew tired of his amusement, and jealous of the earth fire's devotion to the spell snow. Consciousness was a burden to a being like Raghast now that the novelty had paled; he prepared to roll up and be dormant with the rest of them. He put the bowl and its guardian on a shelf where the others wouldn't notice it if they unrolled back to consciousness before he did.

"Who's there?" someone called from the mouth of the cave.

Raghast pushed the bowl further back as the human witch came into the cave.

"Raghast," she said, not really a greeting. From her greater height, the bowl of snow and its wrapping of fire was plainly visible. "I came to ask you for the ice spell."

"We don't want your blood," Raghast said.

"But I need the spell, Raghast. There's too much fire in my household; my children die from the heat. I have to stop it before it takes the last one," she pleaded.

"It doesn't work for humans," Raghast said. He'd been watching for months now, and the human world hadn't frozen yet.

"What is that fire you have?" she asked instead.

"It's mine," Raghast snarled back.

"How is it that the fire doesn't burn? Can there be a liquid fire?" she asked, reaching towards the bowl. "You must give it to me, Raghast."

"It will burn your child if I give it to you," Raghast said, gloating with cruelty. The human witch was too fascinated with fire; her obsession was her weakness.

"He can't burn twice, Raghast," the witch said, her words turning over a new idea. "Like burning the undergrowth to keep a more dangerous fire from taking hold later – I can keep this fire under control, and then the fever heat can't kill him. Let me take it."

Raghast almost warned the witch that the earth fire wouldn't stay with her; it would return to the bowl of spell snow within the day. Then he didn't say anything. This would be part of the game he played with the earth fire. It would return to the snow that had baited the trap, and the human witch would have nothing to show for her efforts. The thought amused him. He gathered the earth fire into a stone bottle and gave it to the witch, who snatched it from him and left.

Raghast waited for over two months, and the earth fire never returned to the snow. The snow remained frozen and alone.

Consciousness eventually became too much of a burden. Raghast set the spell that would alert him if anything changed with the bowl that contained the blood of a damaged soul, and then rolled up into a rock and joined the other cave trolls in their dormancy.

~###~

**Present day . . . **

Raghast rocked back and forth a few times before unrolling into himself again. There weren't many other trolls still rolled into rocks. The caverns were crowded with cave trolls keeping busy with things that didn't matter in an effort to pass the time until something should happen that could distract them. Raghast avoided them; he didn't want to talk to anyone. The spell he'd put on the basin of snow had awoken him and he went to see what had changed.

Raghast made his way to the back of the cave where he'd left the basin, expecting to see that the earth fire had returned, trapped again by the cold. If the witch really had fed it to her son, it would have killed him and gotten free again.

The basin was ordinary gray stone, with no trace of earth fire around it. Frowning, Raghast examined the basin before stepping up onto a ledge to look into it. The spell snow had melted. All those months when the earth fire had wrapped around the basin, the snow had remained as cold and frozen as the day it was made, and now it was water.

The cold, damaged soul of the girl had drawn the earth fire to it and sucked out the warmth. Raghast wondered if the fire itself was trapped, or if Nadja's child had survived being dosed and the earth fire had driven him into the ice trap. If he had, then there was a human out there with a double soul, which wasn't fair at all considering that Raghast didn't have even one. Part of that soul belonged to Raghast anyway; he'd summoned the earth fire and given it to the witch.

"What's there, Raghast?" Horrd demanded, stepping up to see.

"Just water in a bowl – none of your concern," Raghast said, pouring the water into a jar.

"That's the bowl that had the spell snow. What are you hiding?" Horrd demanded as Thain stepped up next to him, ready to join in an argument for the sake of a diversion.

Raghast argued longer, but he knew he didn't want to go get that soul back by himself, even though humans were soft and easy to crush. It would be easier if there were lots of them, thousands of them. So Raghast told them about the earth fire, and its devotion to the snow. He told them about giving the earth fire to the human witch.

"Listen to my plan!" he shouted them down when they began to roar in protest. "The soul wouldn't bind to us when it first came, but it bound to a human who already has a soul. He's got two souls, and we can get it back – it's used to being a soul. It will take us now." Raghast had no idea if any of that was true, but it was the next effort they would make to get a soul. And if it didn't work, they were no worse off than they were now.

It took a few days of arguing and shouting before the mass of them began to ready themselves to leave the caverns. Cave trolls woke up that hadn't been awake in eons as the caverns emptied their burden of trolls back into the world.

Raghast took the jar of water and slung it on a strap over his back. They would need it to find the girl with the damaged soul, the one who had stolen the ice spell. They couldn't track the earth fire itself, but wherever that ice was, the earth fire wouldn't be far away.

~###~

**Present Day, in Weselton . . .**

"Sorcery of the blackest sort," the Duke of Weselton agreed, after listening to Prince Dominic chronicle his misadventures with Queen Elsa. "I always knew there was something dubious about that kingdom."

"She's ensnared my son? Dominic, do you mean to say that he interfered with your betrothal?" Lady Nadja said, her voice strained with desperation. "That's not like him at all. Bernard isn't very smart, but he's basically a good boy and wouldn't interfere with a contract. It must be all her doing."

"I've no doubt – she's a very conniving and vicious person. She could have killed everyone on deck with one blast of magic," Prince Dominic said, willing to repeat that fact multiple times. Every time he said it, he mumbled a bit more on the phrase 'could have' until that distinction nearly dropped out of the sentence. He was still sniveling and coughing from his time in the water, and willing to prolong his suffering if it convinced others that he'd been ill-used. "I've heard that the Southern Isles intends to surrender to Lingarth because of her wholesale destruction of their navy. They're too afraid of her to stand against her any longer. Without the Southern Isles, it's only Weselton that knows what she truly is. I can't even guarantee you that my own country understands what's at stake."

"King Frederick won't take action, then?" the Duke asked Dominic.

"I haven't had an opportunity to discuss these happenings with him," Dominic said.

The Duke narrowed his eyes and considered the evasion in Dominnic's tone. He wondered if King Frederick knew anything at all about his younger brother's recent activities. Weselton kept a close watch on neighboring Easthaven's political machinations, and Prince Dominic had always been too ambitious for King Frederick's peace of mind. He wondered which royal advisors Dominic had bribed before embarking on this scheme. The Duke would rather have taken a more neutral stance between Prince Dominic and King Frederick, but this wasn't only a political issue for him anymore. He'd been as curious about Queen Elsa's military capabilities as Prince Dominic, and just as worried about her Councilor's guarantee that she'd finally gained control of these strange powers. He had been willing to stage a mock invasion of Arendelle when Prince Dominic offered to pay gold. The results had been as worrisome as they'd feared. One couldn't ignore sorcery.

And then there was that other, more unexpected, reason to resent Queen Elsa. His gaze drifted back to Lady Nadja. Since her arrival in Weselton weeks before, they'd shared several conversations about Queen Elsa, and Nadja's deep concern that she'd lost her son to the queen's magical powers.

"She must have bewitched my son, Alan, there's no other explanation for why he would elope with her. Can you believe I had to find out my son was married through common gossip? I refused to believe it; the humiliation of being surprised by such news brought me to tears. He would never do that to me on his own. He's gotten difficult these past few years, but he would never have left me out of his wedding if the queen hadn't forced him to do it," Nadja had explained, holding the Duke's handkerchief to her eyes, her voice cracking with grief.

"His own mother," the Duke had said, aghast at what Nadja's son had done to her. He'd even met Bern on several occasions in the course of trade – their family shipping business supplied him with a sizable portion of Arendelle's goods. He'd seemed like a decent fellow, but you never could tell once witchcraft was involved. Nadja had been so consumed with grief that he'd offered her his hand, and she'd clung to him for comfort. If there was anything he could do to comfort her further, she had only to ask, and he'd told her so.

She turned those liquid gray eyes on him now, the fine cheekbones casting shadows that blended into that glorious black hair. The Duke had always been self-conscious of the sad way his own hair had deserted him at such a young age, and Nadja's tresses were bewitching all on their own. "Alan, do you think there's something further we could do? If it was only my own private heartbreak that we sought to remedy, I'd set it aside in an instant, but we're talking about the safety of all Norway, every kingdom that borders the North Sea is in danger. She must be stopped! I know she stopped Weselton's first attack on Arendelle, but that was only play-acting. If a country as mighty as Weselton really put its muscle behind an attack," Nadja let the sentence trail off.

The Duke puffed up. "Weselton has not been defeated in a sea battle in my lifetime." That was true enough, and no need to mention that they'd avoided military engagements that might have been evenly matched. Part of good leadership was to choose battles wisely, which he'd always done.

"I'm also certain my men already hold Arendelle Castle," Dominic said. "I left a battalion of soldiers, and my most trusted advisor, Sir Lester, to direct the occupation of the castle."

"They're already at a disadvantage then," the Duke mused. His favorite battles were ones in which their enemy was already beset four different ways.

"Do you know, your Grace," Dominic continued as if the idea had just occurred to him, "if Weselton were to decide to rescue those warships that are currently imprisoned by witchcraft outside Arendelle's harbor, Arendelle has no way to stop you. I can guarantee that Easthaven won't come to their defense, and no kingdom that borders on the North Sea could object to Weselton retrieving its own ships. I understand they haven't even properly surrendered or offered parole yet."

"No? So we'd swell our force by another four ships on our way in," the Duke calculated.

"Plus all those soldiers trapped on board have had weeks to develop even more motivation to fight like lions," Dominic went on. "But only if we have a way to thaw the ensorcelled ice that holds them all prisoner."

"Yes, there is that," the Duke mused. "Sorcery and monsters – such evil powers. Is there no way we can break the curse?"

"Alan, I mean, your Grace, do you remember our prior discussions about my studies of fire and heat? There is a chance I know enough about heat to counter the queen's freezing curse. I know your reservations about magic, though, and I wouldn't have offered if it didn't seem to be the only possible way to free those poor men, your countrymen, who by now must be wondering if they've been abandoned to their fate," Nadja said.

"Nonsense, my Lady, I've made a basic study of sorcery myself and don't think myself any less for it. One must know one's enemy! Of course I object strongly to sorcery in pursuit of evil ends, but in the battle against evil, we must use whatever tools we have at hand," the Duke replied.

"I would be almost afraid to pit my small skill against a sorceress like Queen Elsa, but the stakes are so high right now, I must go to battle with you brave men. Oh gentlemen! Do you think there's even a chance we might rescue my son?"

"Of course my dear," and then the Duke blushed fiercely at the slip, "I beg your pardon at the liberty of such a mode of address! I mean, my Lady, of course the safety of your son would be our soldiers' highest priority, after the capture of the queen," the Duke said, stammering a bit as Lady Nadja smiled warmly at him. If Dominic hadn't been in the room, he was quite sure she would have said it was acceptable to address her in such a fashion. Really, she was quite the most beautiful woman of his acquaintance, and so lonely after the death of her husband and the abandonment by her son. It was his duty as a gentleman to comfort her, and his great fortune that as commander of Weselton's navy, he had the means to do it.

"And how shall we capture the queen? Lady Nadja, do you think you can neutralize her powers to the point that she can't fight us? I hesitate to try and use a hostage to ensure her good behavior," Dominic said.

"Hostages! Certainly not, how very barbaric!" the Duke protested.

"My point exactly, your Grace. But how can we keep her from freezing us?" Dominic asked.

"She can't use her powers when she's asleep or unconscious. We all saw that last summer during the disaster that was her coronation. She was quite helpless once her own ice knocked her senseless," the Duke said.

Dominic started in surprise. "I thought her powers responded to any threat automatically."

"Well, the freeze she'd already created didn't thaw, but she couldn't do anything else, even when Prince Hans put her in the dungeon, and surely she would have objected to that if she'd been able to," the Duke pointed out, the hand at his chest clenching and unclenching in a nervous mannerism.

"If she'd been unconscious," Dominic mused to himself.

"I beg your pardon?" the Duke asked.

"It's no matter," Dominic said. "Then a blow to the head would be ideal?"

"May I make another suggestion gentlemen? My small skills are also able to create a sleeping draught – it's nothing really, just something I used to use when my babies were colicky. All we would have to do is slip it into a cup of tea and persuade her to drink it," Nadja said.

The Duke was looking at Dominic strangely – first the suggestion of hostages, and now assuming the queen should be smashed in the head. He himself had only ever ordered his guards to kill her quickly and mercifully, nothing like what Prince Dominic was devising. There was a certain brutality about the younger generation, and a loss of the gentlemanly creed governing warfare that he'd been raised to follow. But there was nothing for it but to try and keep an eye on him; one couldn't always choose one's allies, and fortunately they had a woman here to keep them civilized. "Yes, of course Lady Nadja, a sleeping draught would be preferable."

"Of course," Prince Dominic agreed.

The Duke sighed with regret. "Such an unfortunate business, all the way around. But we must do what must be done, for the safety of everyone in all the kingdoms on the North Sea."

"Then are we agreed?" Dominic asked.

"We are," Nadja said decisively, and then paused with a blush. "I mean, if you think it best, Alan." She put a shy hand to her mouth to hide her smile.

"We are agreed," the Duke said, clearing his throat self-consciously and hiding his own smile behind his bushy mustache.


	24. Chapter 24 - Back in Arendelle

**Chapter 24 – Back in Arendelle**

"Gustav, I simply can't live another minute with these ribbons that don't match my jacket! They've faded in the sunshine. I specifically asked the merchant if the ribbons were boil-dyed, and he said yes, but if they'd been properly dyed, they wouldn't have faded like this. You can see for yourself they don't match," Lady Adele said, holding them out for his inspection. "I won't tolerate a bonnet of such shoddy workmanship. I'll write the merchant a note right now," and she picked up the pen from Gustav's desk, dipped it in his inkwell, and began to write, "and go straight back to his establishment with this complaint. Gustav! Are you even listening to me?"

Gustav was listening to her, with a surprised expression on his face because his wife did not usually hold strong opinions about ribbons. A few steps away, two soldiers of Easthaven stood at their posts outside his study door. He hadn't been allowed to leave his suite or have visitors since they'd taken over the castle three days ago. Adele could visit him only with the guards listening to their conversation.

"If you need to buy new ribbons, by all means, do so," Gustav said at last, wondering why they were squandering their few precious minutes together on such a topic.

"Yes, thank you, I will. I believe I'll take Mirabelle with me; her taste is impeccable. Have you ever seen Mirabelle with ribbons that didn't match her jacket? No, you have not. She is such a smart dresser, such taste in fashion! Oh, and I may drop in on my dressmaker and check how my new gown is coming along. Do you remember I ordered a spring muslin? I thought the lavender would complement our daughter's drawing room, and I'll look so fine when I go to visit. Here, Gustav, you can have your pen back," Adele said, dropping his pen back in the inkwell.

Gustav was fussy about his pens, and it bothered him when Adele left them standing in the inkwell, so he took it back out and blotted the ink.

"Read this and tell me if I conjugated the verbs correctly," Adele said, and her French accent became noticeable for the first time in a decade. "I never can remember these slippery irregular verbs, and I should be mortified, positively mortified, if my grammar was less than perfect when I'm critiquing ribbons."

Gustav glanced down at the complaint she'd just written about the dye job of her bonnet ribbons.

"Read it, Gustav," Adele ordered him.

The first paragraph described the color of her bonnet ribbons. The second paragraph began to recount the merchant's promises about the dye lot, and then right in the middle of it, he read the sentence: "Vilrun has gone to tell Kristoff and Anna our situation." Then the letter returned to ribbons.

"It's very well done, dear, but you did forget the 'has' right here," Gustav said, pointing to a sentence, his relief tucked away and hidden. Now that Vilrun was off to convince Kristoff that Anna was in danger, they could unleash Kristoff in Easthaven's general direction and wait for a natural disaster to wipe them out.

"Thank you. Oh, and after all that, Mirabelle and I will drop in on Charlotte – she promised to show us a clever new way to flute pie crust. She invented it herself you know; it's all the rage in the village right now. Every woman with any domestic ambition at all is fluting pie crust like Charlotte this week! Do you know if Edith is in town? I'm simply dying to see Edith again. She has no taste in hats, but such amusing anecdotes she can tell about her cats! I could listen to her for hours about her cats! I'll repeat them all to you as soon as I return," Adele gushed, folding up the letter and putting it into her reticule.

She turned to go, and caught one of the soldiers at the door by the arm. "Are you coming with me this time? You're not colorblind, are you? Because I will ask your opinion about my bonnet ribbons. If you're colorblind, you can at least carry parcels, can't you? Are you married? Come let Charlotte teach you to flute pie crust. You can show your wife and she'll be so impressed! I know I would be impressed if Gustav could do anything in the kitchen besides burn water. Do you know he did that once? He set the kettle to boil and then left. The water boiled away and the kettle smoked and warped. It was one of those fine new alloys from the continent too. Completely ruined! Do you like cats? Edith will serve you chamomile tea if you listen to her stories about cats, and she makes such nice butter biscuits, hardly any cat hair in them at all! Do come! Whyever not? I thought none of us were to leave the castle without an escort? How do you think Mirabelle and I are to manage all those parcels on our own? Well, I call that rude! Your captain set down clear orders that we were to have an escort at all times, and I could use your help this afternoon. Did he really tell you that only the men needed escorts? You aren't letting them leave the castle at all, and besides, men don't have nearly as many parcels to carry, and they can manage them on their own most of the time. I'll go see if Rodmund's soldier is any more polite than you are; perhaps he wouldn't mind a cup of chamomile tea."

Adele lectured the soldier all the way down the hall. Gustav listened until her voice faded out of sight as she reached the staircase. The soldier returned to his post at Gustav's door, and exchanged a look with the other one on guard duty, part exasperation at such a tedious post, mingled with the relief of having escaped an even more tedious afternoon.

Gustav went back to looking out the window, his only occupation for the past few days. Adele didn't care about the color of her ribbons, other than at their daughters' weddings, when she could be remarkably particular. She had just told anyone who cared to hear that she was taking Rodmund's wife, Mirabelle, to meet with Alan's wife, Charlotte, and track down Vilrun's wife, Edith. Gustav chewed on his bottom lip and wondered what they were up to. He was rather envious that he wasn't up to something with them.

~###~

Weeks passed, the tedium and uselessness of each day wearing away at Gustav's patience. Easthaven soldiers confiscated anything he wrote; his office had already been ransacked numerous times while he watched, hands clenched in anger – they didn't need to empty the bookshelf onto the floor again. After the soldiers searched his office, Sir Lester would subject him to another interrogation about Princess Anna's whereabouts. While these episodes were unpleasant, they also reassured him that Anna was still safe. Occasionally, he heard a ruckus in Rodmund's suite next door, and assumed he was undergoing something similar.

Adele didn't dare say anything important with the guards listening, and they hadn't risked another written communication since the letter about the ribbons. As promised, Adele had repeated to him all of Edith's stories about her cats, but as far as he'd been able to puzzle out, they were stories about cats, with no hidden messages. He wondered how Vilrun could tolerate so many cats.

He'd gotten one glimpse from his doorway of Guardsman Riks in Vilrun's suite, dressed in a councilor's uniform and under guard. The two men were similar in build and coloring, and Gustav savored the information that Vilrun was still outside the castle.

There was a tap at the door, and someone called out that they were bringing back the laundry. It was a sign of how bored he was that he jumped up to answer it as quickly as he did. The guards were still searching through it when he opened the door. When they failed to find any notes or anything else of interest, they nodded at the servant, who offered it to Gustav.

Gustav took the basket from a man with black hair and blue eyes. He wasn't one of the castle manservants, yet Gustav was sure he'd seen him before. He didn't risk drawing the guards' interest by staring or prolonging the delivery, so the door was shut and the basket was on his desk before he remembered who it was: Lito, an ice harvester he'd met at the awards ceremony last fall when he'd been honored for his bravery during the Battle of Arendelle.

This new development encouraged him enough to push open his window and lean out again, considering one more time whether he could somehow make a rope out of sheets and lower himself out the window. But it was a sheer drop from his window to the waters of the fjord. Even if he could get himself down there, he couldn't swim well enough to make it to shore. He would either drown or get caught.

For the hundredth time, he wished their wing of the castle had balconies – at least he would be able to see or talk to Alan or Rodmund, whose rooms were on either side of his. Rodmund's window opened occasionally, but they opened the wrong direction, so even if he had been leaning out the window at the same time Gustav was, they wouldn't be able to talk to each other without shouting loudly enough to draw the attention of the guards in the corridor. Alan's window had never opened, and Gustav wondered if he was under house arrest at his home in the village instead of at the castle. If so, he was undoubtedly eating better than the rest of the councilors. Gustav was sure that Gerda wasn't responsible for the trays that were being sent up, and he hoped she wasn't under arrest as well.

He supposed the reason they weren't confined in the dungeon was because Queen Elsa had destroyed most of the dungeon by tearing down the north wing of the castle. There were a few rooms that could be used as dungeon cells down in the east wing storage area – but if Sir Lester didn't think of them, he wasn't going to volunteer the suggestion.

The next window past Alan's belonged to Bern's suite of rooms. It never opened either, and Gustav hoped that he'd found a safe place to hide with Queen Elsa. It had been nearly a month since their wedding – they were almost at the time when Bern and Queen Elsa would be coming back after their honeymoon, if Prince Dominic hadn't found them. Gustav assumed someone would have gloated about it in his hearing if Queen Elsa had been captured, and hoped that silence was good news.

In all his years as a diplomat, Gustav had never seen as much unbridled fury as Prince Dominic had exhibited when he'd found out about Queen Elsa's wedding. It went far beyond what anyone would expect from a disappointed suitor, even one with political ambitions. Gustav supposed he should count himself lucky that Prince Dominic hadn't killed them all in a fit of temper, though it had been close when Rodmund was insisting they didn't know where Princess Anna had gone.

"Things like this happen in Arendelle! Last year, we lost both of them when the queen got upset. Princess Anna didn't tell us where she was going last summer, either. An ice harvester brought her home – we didn't find her. She's out there again, and there's no telling where she's gone or when she'll come back. We would appreciate more predictability from our royalty as well. Believe me when I tell you that I don't know where she is this summer any more than I knew last summer. You upset the queen, and now we've lost track of both of them again."

Fortunately, that had the ring of truth to it.

"Is she always this uncontrollable?" Dominic had demanded of Gustav. "Have you been lying when you've insisted she can be controlled?"

"I never said the queen could be controlled. I said that she has gained control of her powers. However, you've seen for yourself that control depends on her situation and emotional state. The land hasn't frozen – Queen Elsa has control of her powers still, but I would advise that you not push her past her limits again," Gustav had replied.

"How does she control it? She said love helps – what kind of stupidity is that?" Dominic demanded.

"Incomprehensible stupidity to one as intelligent as you, I'm sure," Gustav agreed. "Her sister loves her enough to help her, as does her husband. I wouldn't expect you to understand."

For that, they'd knocked him down.

"It was your job to make sure she married the right man," Dominic had accused him.

Gustav only smiled at him, which was why they'd roughed him up before throwing him in here with a guard at the door. Rodmund and the other councilors were also under house arrest. He'd overheard enough from his sentries to know that the Castle Guards were being held in a makeshift prison on the mainland. Prince Dominic was gone, and it was easy enough to guess that he'd left orders with Sir Lester to find Princess Anna.

The frozen ships from Weselton were barely visible from this distance, but enough to see that they were still there. Queen Elsa must have frozen that iceberg to the sea floor. Even in the summer, the waters of the North Sea were cold enough that ice melted slowly. It was while Gustav was idly watching the ships that he noticed something strange along the coastline. There was a white fleck of foam traveling too fast to identify. It put him in mind of the wake of a ship, but a ship can't sail faster than the wind can blow, and there wasn't much wind today. Frowning with concentration, Gustav watched it until it passed out of his field of vision.

~###~

Elsa landed the small skiff made out of ice in the shallow beach. Olaf jumped out; Bern followed more slowly, carrying a bag and a basket. Elsa set her parcel down to turn and wave at the skiff, which disappeared in a cloud of blue sparkles. "Over the road and into the trees now, and then we'll stop and rest. Bern, can you make it that far?"

"Good heavens, Elsa, I'm not an invalid. Yes, I can get into the trees. I got us this far, didn't I?"

"Who got us this far?"

"I gave you directions," Bern replied testily. Elsa was going to wrap him up in cotton batting and leave him somewhere, he was sure of it. So he pulled on his failing reserves of strength to act like four days of travel hadn't worn him out.

When they'd arrived at Lingarth's docks, Prince Victor had escorted them to one of the warships Elsa had captured to sail them home. Bern had asked if they intended to stay and fight Easthaven with them. At Victor's offended refusal, Elsa suggested they sail back to Arendelle on a less noticeable ship so Easthaven wouldn't capture them at the end of the gangplank when they docked in the harbor and announced they hadn't brought an army and navy with them. Victor had not been impressed to have his shoddy behavior pointed out like that, but he did commandeer a smaller fishing vessel for them instead.

After three days of sailing, the fishing boat dropped anchor close to the island where they'd left Bern's sailboat. They'd spent those days making plans and coming up with ideas, and they'd turned down the captain's offer to row them to the island in favor of Elsa experimenting with an ice skiff, and her ability to propel it across the water. Bern's sailboat would be too visible if they tried to sail it back to Arendelle's harbor, and neither of them wanted to talk about the fact that Bern couldn't sail it right now.

Olaf had met them on the beach, concerned about his failure to get gorgeously tanned despite weeks of lying in the sand. Eventually, he asked what had happened to them. Elsa gave him a very short summary, and Olaf was happy enough to see them that he didn't think to ask questions to fill in the gaping holes Elsa left in the narrative.

Bern finally knew the whole story, or as much of it as he could persuade Elsa to tell him. He had the feeling she was still leaving something out. But at least he knew how he'd gotten injured – Dominic had smashed him in the head and then strung him up for a beating. Bern failed to see anything heroic in that, but Elsa insisted she admired him greatly for his actions. Bern refrained from making any comments about how both of them questioned the other one's judgment for thinking the best of the other.

Elsa hadn't been able to downplay her own heroism. She'd defeated Dominic, stopped a naval battle, and saved both of them. Bern praised her generously, and secretly felt ashamed that he hadn't done anything useful, much less heroic. Perhaps he should have stayed behind in Lingarth; Elsa could save all of Arendelle if she didn't have to worry about him.

And somewhat less momentous, but no less important, Elsa announced that she wasn't pregnant at all, and so maybe he had been right about where babies came from and how often.

"Of course I was right, Elsa!"

"Well, if you'd been wrong, we were already up to triplets, so that's quite a risk I took based on nothing but your word," Elsa had replied.

"Elsa, stop counting!" The number was depressingly low.

The closer they got to Arendelle, the more Olaf was sure that Anna wasn't in the castle. That meant they were headed for the mountains, and there was a trail from the shore to the mountains not far from here that would skirt the back side of the mountain and avoid the village. Bern's memory of the coastline was reliable, and he could see better at a distance than up close because the double vision didn't trouble him when he was trying to see far away. There were times he could see fairly clearly from his peripheral vision, and he hoped the double vision would continue to fade. It wasn't nearly as bad as it had been a few weeks ago.

In a thicket of trees and underbrush, they shook out a couple of blankets and spread them over the pine needles and dead leaves carpeting the ground. Bern hated to admit it, but he did need to rest. Besides, they should travel at night to avoid getting caught by the Easthaven soldiers who were searching the mountains for Anna.

Gratefully, Bern pillowed his head on a folded blanket and closed his eyes as Elsa went to see what Olaf wanted. The feeling of pressure in his head had been with him all day, occasionally escalating into pain, and then patches of white would float in front of his eyes, unpredictably obscuring whole sections of his already-damaged vision. He was irritable out of fear – he couldn't rely on his own eyes, and his stamina was poor. He was afraid he was useless, worse than useless because he couldn't even be left behind where he would be out of the way. At least he hadn't told Elsa anything about the heat that connected him to her. If she did need to leave him somewhere, he would deal with whatever happened to him without troubling her. The thought drifted through his mind again that Elsa could rescue all of Arendelle if she didn't have to worry about him.

He didn't have to open his eyes to know she was back, and then she laid down next to him. "Olaf wanted to sit in a tree, so I gave him a boost. He said he'd throw pebbles if someone comes."

"Mmm," Bern acknowledged. It was proof of how exhausted he was that he hoped she didn't want to talk, or even kiss. She stayed quiet and rubbed his neck, which eased the pressure in his head, and he dropped off to sleep.

~###~

Anna looped one rope over each antler and let Sven carry two buckets of water from the stream back to the small clearing where she and Kristoff had been camping the last two days. He slopped a lot over the sides, but it was easier than carrying it herself. Kristoff was gone checking rabbit traps for dinner. Vilrun had left yesterday to check in with the trolls at the outposts where they stood watch for Easthaven soldiers, and to meet with anyone he could find who had recently been in the village who might have news. Since there was no one around, Anna let herself sniffle a little bit. She was tired of camping; she wanted to go home and sleep in her own bed. It had been a month since Prince Dominic had taken over Arendelle, and in all that time, the soldiers hadn't stopped searching for her. She and Kristoff had to keep moving. They were supposed to have freed Arendelle by now, but the most they'd been able to accomplish was to not get caught. Every time Vilrun returned, he brought news that kept stamping out Anna's hope that someday this would all be over. Anna was struggling to stay cheerful and optimistic and so she granted herself the luxury of a few tears when Sven was the only witness.

Sven set down the water buckets carefully, then lowed and nudged Anna with his nose when she took the ropes off his antlers.

"I'm all right," Anna said, scratching his ears.

Sven grunted.

"Fine, I'm not all right, but it's just for a few minutes." Anna leaned against him and put her cheek against his big head, where the fur was shorter and softer than his body.

Sven crooned at her in concern, then whipped his head around and snorted an alarm.

Anna barely had time to consider making a run for it when the branches rustled, and then Olaf ran into the clearing, shouting "Sven!"

Olaf and Sven butted heads and Sven snapped at Olaf's nose while Anna stared.

"Anna?"

Anna burst into tears and threw herself into Elsa's arms. Her sister was back! "Oh, Elsa, you can't even imagine!" Anna sobbed.

"Come tell me all about it," Elsa said, pulling Anna over to where they could sit down on a fallen log.

Anna was vaguely conscious of Bern patting her shoulder and sitting next to them, and then she simply poured out everything that had happened in the past month while Olaf and Sven cavorted around the clearing. She didn't stop talking until Kristoff walked back into camp with the rabbits he'd trapped.

"Did anyone follow you?" was Kristoff's version of a greeting.

"We knew to avoid Easthaven's soldiers. We traveled at night last night. Olaf said you were close, so we risked an hour of daylight travel," Bern answered. "Elsa can move us along pretty fast."

"We got to ski all the way here!" Olaf boasted.

Elsa stood up and pulled Kristoff into a hug. "Thank you for keeping my sister safe."

Kristoff looked like he was about to die of shock, which restored Anna's spirits enough that she laughed. Elsa looked surprised that she'd done that, and retreated to Bern.

"Let's hear your story now," Kristoff said.

Bern and Elsa exchanged a glance, and then Elsa began to talk. 'Terrible' didn't even begin to describe it, Anna decided as she listened to Elsa.

"We came back to Arendelle as soon as we could," Elsa finished. "Probably sooner than we should have; I don't want to risk Bern's health, but he wouldn't stay behind."

"I got several hours of rest this morning. I'm fine," Bern insisted when Anna told him to go lie down.

"We noticed the fjord hasn't frozen," Kristoff commented.

Anna elbowed him, but Elsa only laughed.

"I'm doing so well with my magic! Only occasional bits of ice and snow escape when I'm especially upset; Bern helps so much! And all the fires are working now, Anna. Remember I told you I could feel the warmth from a fire sometimes if I was doing well with my powers? Now they're all working!" Elsa crouched down by the campfire Kristoff had just started to cook dinner and held out her hands to the flames. "Oh! Except not this one." Elsa put her hand right into the flames and sighed with disappointment.

"Are you cold?" Anna asked, though it was a hot summer day.

"I can't get cold, but now that I know what it feels like to be warm, I miss it when I can't feel it. I don't understand what's wrong. I got us all the way here on an ice ribbon and haven't had any problems with my magic in days," Elsa said, putting her hand back into the flames until her sleeve started to smoke.

"Hey Elsa, can I try and get this fire working for you?" Kristoff said.

"Do you think you could?"

Kristoff kicked the fire apart, and rolled a burning branch in the dirt with his foot, extinguishing the flames. He took a bucket of water that Sven had just carried back to the clearing and poured it over the ashes.

"Um, Kristoff, do you have any better ideas?" Olaf asked.

"Build the fire, Bern," Kristoff said.

"I'm not sure if you noticed, but you just soaked it," Bern replied.

"Build it anyway, Bern," Kristoff said.

Anna stayed silent. The conversation with Grand Pabbie about the potion Bern had drunk had been a month ago, and so many things had happened since then that she'd stopped wondering what might have happened to Bern in the time he'd spent with Elsa.

Bern gave Kristoff a long look, then picked up a dead branch and began breaking it up. He scuffed his foot along the ground, looking for another spot for a campfire that wasn't covered in grass.

"Use the same fire ring," Kristoff suggested.

"It's wet," Bern said.

"Use it anyway. You know what was strange about taking you up to the ice lakes last March? You could always get a fire going. It didn't matter if the wood was wet or snowy, or how damp the ground was, you could always get the fire going," Kristoff said.

Bern piled the wood up and shrugged. "I've always been good with fires."

"I think you're better with fires than you think you are," Kristoff said. "Do you want a match?"

"Obviously."

Kristoff broke a twig off of a branch and handed it to him.

"Very funny, Kristoff."

Kristoff still held out the twig. "You only ever needed one match to start a fire at the ice lakes. It's cold up there, Bern. The wind blows. Things get wet. Every ice harvester up there has sometimes used twenty matches or more to get a fire going, but you only ever used one match and then we had a bonfire. Don't you think that's strange?"

Elsa clutched Anna's hand, her eyes fixed on Bern, barely breathing. When Grand Pabbie had told them about the possibility Bern had magic, all Anna's thoughts had been about Bern. She hadn't even wondered what it might mean to Elsa if she wasn't the only one in the kingdom with magical powers.

"I can always get a fire going," Bern said.

"Then start the fire."

"That's a twig, Kristoff," Bern said.

"There's no difference between a twig and a wet match. Just try it."

Bern took the twig and dragged it down a rock. It caught fire immediately. He set it to the wood, and flames leaped up.

"Try this fire, Elsa. Does it work?"

Elsa bent down to the fire and held out her hands. "Yes."

"Those fires that have been working for you – how many of them has Bern started?"

"All of them," Elsa said. She stood by the fire for a few more seconds, then seized Bern in a fierce hug. "I thought warmth depended on getting it right, but that doesn't matter at all! I can make a thousand mistakes and still feel a fire! It's you!"

Elsa was a mixture of laughter and tears while Bern was staring in disbelief at his hand.

Anna giggled, then whispered in Kristoff's ear. "I told you she wasn't dangerous to him! Look! They didn't even know about it after a month together!"

"Was that magic?" Bern asked.

Elsa picked up a branch. "Here, Bern, think about this catching fire. Don't even pretend to use a match."

Bern wrapped his hand around the branch and it burst into flame. He dropped it onto the fire and went back to staring at his hand. "It's just that I'm good with fires. Lots of people are good with fires," Bern protested while Elsa kept giggling.

"Have there ever been any unexplained fires when you're around?" Kristoff asked.

"No, fires are very well-behaved and predictable when I'm around."

"Except for that one fire on Dominic's ship," Elsa said, and she stopped laughing.

"Is this another one of those things you haven't told me?" Bern asked.

"I told you the rest of it. I don't like to think of it, Bern. I don't want to remember what happened and if I tell you, then I have to remember it. But they were threatening to kill you if I didn't agree to marry Dominic, and I was just about to sign the betrothal agreement when it burst into flames," Elsa said.

Anna put her hands to her mouth, her blue eyes huge. Elsa hadn't told them this part of the story. While she watched, Elsa changed from the laughing and excited creature of a moment ago to a small and scared version of herself, caught in the grip of a terrible memory.

"Maybe Dominic waved it too close to a candle," Bern suggested.

"There weren't any candles."

Kristoff started out with a chuckle, but it eventually turned into laughter that he tried to smother before it got too loud. "The contract? That guy was trying to marry your wife, and you burned the contract? You economist! You go after the contract!" He gave up trying to laugh quietly and guffawed.

Suddenly Kristoff was buried in six feet of snow.

"Elsa!" Anna shrieked, digging into the drift as Kristoff broke his head free and started pushing his way out.

"Don't you laugh at him!" Elsa shrilled. "Don't you laugh at anything he did!"

"Elsa, it's fine!" Bern said in shock.

"Don't worry about it, Bern, at least it wasn't you," Kristoff said as he climbed out of the snow drift.

There wasn't fear in his tone, because it was Kristoff, but Anna suddenly wondered what would happen if Bern lost control, and how much more destructive it would be than a pile of snow. Elsa was watching him too, and then Bern realized what they were all thinking.

"We need to leave for a few hours," Bern announced.

No one objected, not even Anna.

~###~

"Elsa, can you tell me more about when the betrothal agreement caught fire?"

Elsa had led them through the trees, far enough away to give them some privacy, with Elsa muttering about how Kristoff deserved to get smacked upside the head once in a while. Bern's question silenced her.

"Please?" Bern pulled them to a stop next to a fallen log where they could sit down before he tripped.

"It was too awful, Bern. I was so afraid they were going to kill you and then force me to marry Dominic," Elsa said with a shudder.

Bern didn't want to drag her through a painful memory, but even the little bit she'd said was teasing the edges of his memory and he had to know more. "Elsa, I've always been good with fires, and you've been able to feel those fires even before we were married."

"What does getting married have to do with it?"

Bern stopped. He hadn't told her about the inner heat she'd triggered the morning they'd been captured by Dominic. "I'll answer your question, but will you please tell me what happened on the ship?"

Elsa nodded.

"Do you remember when you offered to heal my sunburn?" Bern started there and described the strange feeling of heat that noticed when she was gone, how he was sure he'd never had the fever Donner had worried about, and tried to downplay the uneasiness he'd felt when she'd left their room for a few hours back at Lingarth Castle.

"I did something to you?" Elsa asked, her voice full of guilt.

"Something changed, but I don't know what. You didn't give me magical powers, if that's what you're worried about. Like Kristoff said, I've been able to start fires long before we were married. I just didn't know I didn't need a match," Bern insisted. "How did Kristoff know anyway?"

"Grand Pabbie. If Kristoff knows anything, I'm sure it came from Grand Pabbie," Elsa said.

"We'll talk to Grand Pabbie as soon as we can. Elsa, what happened on the ship?"

Elsa described the meeting with Dominic, the threats he'd made, and how the betrothal agreement had caught fire just as she was about to sign it. As she talked, Bern saw glimpses of the scene unfolding in his own mind as her words scraped up his own memory. He remembered more than she said; he remembered deliberately trying to fan the inner fire to kill himself and set Elsa free to fight. He hadn't been able to control what actually happened though – it had turned out better than he'd planned and saved both of them.

Maybe, just maybe, he had a way to help Elsa and Arendelle after all, if only he could figure out what it was and how to use it.


	25. Chapter 25 - Trolls and Souls

**Chapter 25 – Trolls and Souls**

Sir Lester, knight of Easthaven, watched sourly as Major Felix rode into camp. When they'd conquered Arendelle, Sir Lester had nabbed the only remaining interesting assignment for himself – to find Princess Anna – and left Major Felix to direct the occupation of Arendelle while Prince Dominic sailed away to find Queen Elsa. Sir Lester told Major Felix they would meet once a week until Princess Anna was captured, with the intent that he would find her before the first meeting. Now, he resented Major Felix's punctual meetings and detailed updates about how well he was doing at governing Arendelle, followed by a pointed silence filled only with Sir Lester's admission he had not yet found Princess Anna.

If it wouldn't sound so much like an excuse, Sir Lester would have ventured his growing opinion that Guardsman Kristoff did have magical powers over the mountain. There was no other way a common ice harvester could have evaded their search so thoroughly. They might have been able to persuade the hill folk to be more helpful, but Prince Dominic had specifically forbidden violence against the population; he still planned to rule Arendelle.

Sir Lester's aides prepared a table with their maps of Arendelle and brought a pot of coffee while Major Felix dismounted.

"Prince Dominic has returned," Major Felix announced in lieu of a greeting. "He brought the Duke of Weselton and a witch with him."

Sir Lester's lips twitched. "The queen?"

"Different witch," Major Felix said with a shrug. "He wants to know where Anna is."

Of course he wanted to know where Anna was. Dominic did not tolerate failure, which was the reason Lester was so devoted to his service. A man who refused to accept defeat would eventually succeed, and Lester intended to be there to share the glory. Dominic had chafed under his brother's royal hand for years, and Lester had listened to Dominic's plans to build an empire to rival Easthaven and seen himself as Dominic's most trusted and longstanding advisor. With the glitter of ambition obscuring the possibility of failure, Dominic painted a picture of a quick rise to prominence driven by the unstoppable force of Queen Elsa's magic. He'd meant to woo her, but when she'd jilted him, his fury formulated another plan. One way or the other, Queen Elsa would get for Dominic the power and glory he craved.

A man who refused to accept failure in himself also refused to accept it in others. Sir Lester had not found Princess Anna, and Dominic would not excuse that failure.

"Is the economist dead?" Lester stalled. "Does he need the princess to help the queen control her magic?"

There was a crack in Major Felix's implacable confidence. "The queen escaped; her husband was badly injured but may have survived."

Sir Lester turned his attention to his coffee cup. Dominic had failed again. That was a possibility that he had never considered, nor had Dominic. But he'd been around the man long enough to know that Prince Dominic would see failure as only a temporary setback. They still held all of Arendelle, and Princess Anna couldn't run forever.

"Well? What report do I give Prince Dominic?" Major Felix pressed.

"As you can see on these maps, my men have searched all the northern valleys and peaks. We leave a garrison in each marked sector to keep her from hiding somewhere we've already searched." At length, Sir Lester described the search grid, the thoroughness of their techniques, the traces of camps they'd found, the help they'd gotten from a couple of Hamarian ice harvesters who had taken payment, all designed to obscure the fact that he did not have Princess Anna.

Major Felix 'hmmed' from time to time, and Sir Lester knew he knew exactly what he was doing and why.

Galloping hooves from the north got the attention of all the men in the camp, and Sir Lester got to his feet with a rebuke ready for the noise. But before he could speak, Lieutenant Cherton was reigning his lathered horse to a stop and calling out, "We've found her! They're not three hours from here. I left two scouts as lookouts. It isn't a trace of a camp or a rumor; she's there in person."

Sir Lester turned to Major Felix. "You can send word to Prince Dominic that we have the princess." Then he began calling out orders to his men.

~###~

"Grand Pabbie is dying to meet you. We already sent word we'd meet him here, so just be patient until he comes," Anna said when Bern said he had to talk to Grand Pabbie.

It was the next morning, after an evening of apologies, rabbit stew, recollections about every word Grand Pabbie had said about the potion Bern had drunk, and then Vilrun's arrival necessitating a repeat of everything everyone had already said.

"Want to play with fire while we're waiting, Bern?" Kristoff suggested.

After more than an hour, they agreed Bern couldn't do much beyond what they'd already seen. He could start a fire without pretending to use a match by holding wood and wanting it to catch fire, but it seemed that was the only magical thing about them. Bern's fires could be put out by any ordinary means, or by Elsa's magic. Bern couldn't put out his own fires unless he used water or dirt like anyone else. They also found out that if Kristoff started a fire, Bern could make it 'work' for Elsa by lighting a branch on fire and adding it to the existing fire, but that didn't matter to anyone but Elsa. Bern was immune to his own fires – he could tell they were hot, but the heat didn't progress to the point of pain or injury. But when he picked up a burning branch from a fire Kristoff had lit, he had to drop it within a few seconds. Kristoff declined to see if he could hold a burning branch as long as Bern could, despite Anna suggesting it would be interesting to find out.

Elsa insisted that the betrothal agreement had caught fire while Bern had been across the ship's cabin, but no matter how hard he willed it, Bern couldn't set anything on fire without touching it. His hands also wouldn't spout flame while they were empty, even though Kristoff thought that would have been really impressive.

Kristoff finally quit nagging Bern to try again.

"This may come as a disappointment to you, but I'm relieved to find that I can't start fires as easily as Elsa can freeze things," Bern said to Kristoff. "If I really have had magical powers over fires ever since I drank that potion, they're obviously weak enough to look like nothing more than a knack with fires."

"Elsa can feel your fires," Anna added. "Is that magic or because she loves you?"

"The magic," Elsa said. "I've felt warmth from him and his fires before I loved him."

Anna raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Or maybe the love worked even before you were willing to _admit_ you loved him."

"I suppose we'll never settle that question," Elsa said, giving Bern a nudge in the ribs with her elbow to stop him from gloating too obviously.

"And you don't need a match, Bern," Kristoff pointed out.

"That seems to be the most magical thing about them," Bern commented. While he was relieved to find out he wasn't going to lose control and burn down the country, he was also disappointed his magical powers were not powerful enough to save Arendelle or even threaten Dominic. He wondered if there was another explanation for how the betrothal agreement had caught fire on the ship.

Kristoff shrugged. "I'm still right about your name."

The topic of Bern's name came up when Kristoff mentioned what he'd seen in Bern's family Bible, and they'd argued over the spelling – Bern insisting he was named after his Uncle Bernard, and Kristoff just as insistent that he'd seen 'Burn' in the family Bible, and refusing to change his memory of the spelling when Anna pointed out that a nickname for 'Bernard' would be spelled differently than the way a fire could 'burn.'

"Father wrote our names in the family Bible when we were christened, and I can't imagine a motivation for him to give me a name like that. Mother is the one who calls me 'Bernard,' so even if she knew she was giving me abilities with fire when she made me drink that potion, she's not the one who named me 'Burn,'" Bern insisted.

"I saw it," Kristoff repeated.

"May I suggest we move on?" Vilrun interrupted. He'd been as interested as the rest of them in Bern's demonstrations, but was pressing for action today, after yesterday's interlude. Vilrun brought news that Prince Dominic had returned to Arendelle, aboard a ship flying Weselton's flag.

"Sure, let's practice dueling. Dominic is alive and back in Arendelle, so Bern's got a duel hanging over his head," Kristoff said.

"Perhaps Dominic could manage to die in battle," Elsa said.

"If I killed Dominic in single combat, would the rest of them leave peacefully?" Bern countered.

"They might," Vilrun conceded. "He's the driving force behind this invasion. Sir Lester isn't planning to hold Arendelle on his own account."

"It's not worth the risk," Elsa said.

"Elsa, give me a chance," Bern said. He'd hoped his magic might have helped, but he couldn't duplicate whatever had happened on the ship. The duel was his only other chance to do something useful for Elsa and Arendelle.

Elsa sat down abruptly, lips pursed, and refused to watch when Bern and Kristoff drew swords. After several minutes, Anna came to sit on the log next to her. "You may as well see what's happening," she said in a low voice.

Kristoff was pulling every thrust and slowing every swing; Bern couldn't parry anywhere near quickly enough.

"Your Highness," Vilrun began.

"Don't call me that, Vilrun – it's Bern to you. Just a few more times. I'm slow only because I'm out of practice. I'll get the hang of it soon enough. Again, Kristoff," Bern said.

Kristoff complied, but his swordwork didn't get any faster. Bern couldn't keep up.

"I imagine it's a matter of vision. There are visual cues in stance, expression and movement that precede a swing or thrust," Vilrun offered.

Kristoff sheathed his sword.

"Again, Kristoff," Bern said, sword ready.

"Bern, it's not your fault," Kristoff said, his tone full of sympathy.

"Don't you dare!" Bern snapped at him. "I can do this!"

Kristoff didn't answer him, but he also didn't pull his sword again.

Bern stood there, chest heaving with the exertion, and then with something else as he realized the truth of Vilrun's explanation and accepted Kristoff's refusal. Bern sheathed his sword. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Bern, I'll come," Elsa said, getting to her feet.

"No, I want a moment alone," Bern said, just as he stumbled over a rock, catching himself before he fell.

"I'll leave you alone as soon as I get you somewhere," Elsa said as she took his arm and guided him into the trees.

Bern couldn't protest because he wasn't sure he could speak without unmanning himself with tears. He'd wanted so badly to be impressive. Elsa's kindness proved to be the last straw, and he vainly hoped she'd mistake the dampness on his face for sweat. With his free hand, he rubbed his handkerchief over his temples and down his cheeks. If she knew what he was really doing, she pretended not to. Elsa led him to the same clearing by a stream where they'd gone yesterday.

"I'll leave you alone, since you asked, after I say something. I'm not very good at telling you how much I love you, Bern, but I want you to know I don't want you to be any different than you are. I finally understand that's how you feel about me. You don't wish I had fewer problems or no magic. So you can't tell me that I should think any less of you for not being able to see well anymore. I love you, Bern. I love you a thousand times more than I did a month ago."

He put his head down and refused to look at her.

"And one more thing before I go. I've met lots of royal princes now: Dominic, Hans, Victor, Hector, Henry, Obadiah, Nels, and the rest of them. You're better than any of them, Bern. I'd marry you again tomorrow."

He kept studying the green blur of ground between his feet and only nodded in acknowledgment, then heard her footsteps walking away. That heat in him yearned after her, but he scolded himself into humiliation for needing her so much when he couldn't be strong enough to protect her.

She came back and stood next to him, her fingers gently running through his hair as he kept his head bowed, too ashamed to even look at her. "If I leave, does it make that heat in you uneasy?"

"I don't have to follow you around like a puppy on a leash. Maybe I'm just making all of it up. I've got this head wound, remember? Perhaps it's just a fever dream."

She didn't move, just kept caressing his hair until he put his arms around her waist and buried his face in her stomach. They had only a few moments alone before light footsteps alerted them to someone's approach.

"The trolls are here," Anna said, appearing out of the underbrush. "If you don't come quickly, you'll have about five dozen rocks coming to look for you."

"They'll have answers for us," Elsa reassured him.

"I should probably warn you about something, Bern," Anna said as the three of them started back. "Grand Pabbie wasn't very happy about you drinking earth fire and messing with magic and doing things that aren't supposed to happen, like, ever. So I told Bulda that once I marry Kristoff, he'll be your brother, because I thought then Bulda would like you and Grand Pabbie couldn't stay angry at someone Bulda liked. Wow, did it work! Bulda's thrilled Kristoff has a brother, and you might get adopted, but it's all worth it because Grand Pabbie isn't upset with you anymore. Bulda just loves you! You're soul mates with the trolls anyway, right? They can get really excited though, so watch your toes. Try not to pay too much attention to the advice and don't let the little ones push you around."

Anna was still trying to prepare Bern for the trolls when they got back to the clearing where trolls were standing three deep, waiting for their arrival.

It's Kristoff's brother!" Bulda shouted, and a party started.

"Where's your reindeer?"

"Here's a mushroom!"

"Can you dig tunnels?"

"Kristoff's boots are better than yours."

"Do you like ice-blocking?"

"If you steal Kristoff's sled, I'll drive it for you!"

"Say 'borrow' not 'steal' or Kristoff will get mad!"

"I still like Anna best."

"Sven likes me best."

"Are you three hundred years old yet?"

"I turned twenty-seven last May," Bern answered.

The trolls fell silent and double-blinked.

"Humans, you're both the best and the worst," Cliff said with a sigh.

"Be nice about it, dear, since we're adopting him too," Bulda scolded Cliff.

"We are?"

"He's Kristoff's brother, isn't he? We can't very well tell him we won't!" Bulda pointed out logically.

Kristoff threw an arm around Bern's shoulders. "Welcome to the family! Don't let it go to your head though. Your other brother is a cockroach."

"How do I tell the two of you apart?" Bern asked.

"Kristoff is sentient," Trixie said.

"Most of the time," Vixie amended, popping up to stand on Trixie's hands.

"Bern's my step-father!" Olaf announced.

"That makes you my nephew!" Chone hollered.

"That's quite a family you just acquired," Vilrun observed.

Bern thought he might never need to worry about loneliness again, although the noise might give him a headache.

Trixie threw Vixie off and popped up. Bern caught her by reflex, staggering at the unexpected weight. "Can you really do strange magic?"

"I can start fires," Bern said.

The trolls demanded a demonstration. Bern wrapped his hand around a branch and willed it to burst into flame. It did. He held the branch with the flames crackling around his hand, feeling heat but no pain.

"What else can you do?" Trixie demanded.

"That's all," Bern said. "I tried all morning, and all I can do is start a fire. Elsa can feel them. She can't feel warmth from anything besides my fires, so they're special to Elsa, but that seems to be the only magical thing about them."

Elsa was already holding her fingers towards the fire in Bern's hand.

"That and you don't need matches or tinder to start them," Kristoff added.

Bern shrugged. In his mind, it wasn't that hard to use a match, so this was hardly an ability to admire.

"It's not the magic that concerns me so much as his soul. Kristoff, didn't you explain this to him?" Grand Pabbie said. He popped up to land on Cliff's hands and put his stone hand into the fire, but discerned nothing out of the ordinary about it.

"I don't understand it!" Kristoff protested.

"You've done a miracle, Kristoff," Grand Pabbie reproved him.

"You have?" Bern asked.

Kristoff shrugged. "I'll tell you later."

"Kristoff told us what you said about this ice magic of mine being designed to trap earth fire, like in the potion Bern drank. He can't get away from me now, even if he wanted to," Elsa said. Her voice was full of guilt and shame.

"I'm not trapped," Bern insisted. "Elsa, do you really think the reason I want to spend the rest of my life with you is because magic is forcing me to stay? Is that really what you think of me?"

"It's what I think of me, Bern, not you. Why else would someone as wonderful as you want to stay with someone like me?" Elsa said in a low voice.

"Did you marry her voluntarily?" Grand Pabbie interrupted before Bern could answer.

"Yes," Bern said firmly, hoping that would be Elsa's answer. "I've wanted to marry Elsa for a long time now. I love her. I've loved her for years."

Bulda, Trixie and Vixie sighed dreamily.

"You love her?" Grand Pabbie challenged him. "What does that mean? You think she's beautiful? You wanted to rule Arendelle? No one else would have you?"

"It means I've been putting her needs ahead of my own," Bern said.

Grand Pabbie subsided with a smug smile and exchanged a knowing look with Cliff. "I suspected that's how he survived."

"True love," Bulda said with another dreamy sigh.

"How I survived?" Bern questioned.

"You've got a double soul," Grand Pabbie said to Bern, "the only one I've ever heard of. When your mother fed you that potion of earth fire mixed with magic, it should have killed you. Instead, it bonded with your soul. Are you typically good at true love? Do you put others' needs ahead of your own on a regular basis?"

Kristoff snorted. "I'll answer that one for you. Bern does that better than anyone else I've ever met."

"How is it that you can make a compliment sound like an insult?" Bern asked.

"It's a brother thing," Kristoff said, with another slap on the back.

"The strength of a soul is determined by the ability to put someone else's needs ahead of your own. Your soul was strong enough to combine with the earth fire rather than dying to get away from it. You survived because of your ability to love. The earth fire is a portion of the earth's soul, you know. It's our soul." Grand Pabbie held up something. Bern could see only that it was fastened around his neck and was glowing. Then he took a small vial out of a pocket in his robes. "You may as well have the rest of it."

Bern took the vial he offered, worked out the stopper, and poured a spoonful of glowing orange liquid into the palm of his hand. It flared brightly, then soaked in and disappeared.

"That's all there was?" Bern asked.

"Once I purified the magic out of it, yes," Grand Pabbie said

"No, I mean all the earth fire that's been trapped by the ice spell. How long have the cave trolls been using it?" Bern asked.

Grand Pabbie thought for a minute. "At least a couple of centuries by human reckoning. But there isn't any other earth fire that's been trapped; we've spent the weeks since Kristoff brought us this potion searching for any other indication of orphan earth fire and haven't found any."

"That isn't much of a trap, then, if it only worked once after two hundred years of trying," Bern said. "Elsa, do you see? I'm not trapped; I love you."

Grand Pabbie was nodding. "True love is always voluntary."

Bern couldn't see Elsa's expression, but she came into his arms and let him hold her and he hoped that would be the end of the ridiculous idea that she'd trapped him.

"How did the earth fire get mixed with magic, Bern? Kristoff says that wasn't your responsibility," Grand Pabbie said.

"It was medicine my mother made for me," Bern said. He thought for a couple of minutes. His expression went from curious to sad as he realized what had happened. "The last words my father ever spoke to me were that my mother was a real witch. At the time, I thought he was referring to her personality."

~###~

The conversation with the trolls swirled from banal to informative back to ridiculous and then to insightful. Bern despaired of ever learning anything specific about his abilities from them until Trixie, Vixie and Pixie all tried to jump into his arms at once and he ended up on the ground with them. In the midst of their stone bodies and babbling interruptions, he noticed just how many fire crystals the adult trolls had – dozens, even hundreds of fire crystals hung around their stone necks. They were all glowing, and even with his damaged vision, he could see them. Paying no heed to the words swirling around him, he reached for their fire crystals, not just with his hands but also with that inner heat. There was an internal sense of homecoming once he stopped listening and started feeling. He had found family, as odd as it was. He wondered if the loneliness that had plagued him his entire life was connected to this earth fire part of his soul longing for the trolls, because he was suddenly awash in happiness and contentment.

The trolls reached back, stone fingers in his curly hair, hands rubbing the cloth of his jacket and comparing it to the moss clothes they wore, then Bulda licked her thumb and rubbed at a smudge on his cheek and he dodged away from her.

"Kristoff hates that too," Bulda said.

"Leave him be, Bulda. Let him listen to the fire crystals," Grand Pabbie said.

The trolls settled into silence. Kristoff and Anna joined them, sitting back to back on the ground with their laps full of trolls. Vilrun seated himself next to Cliff. Bern held out a hand to Elsa and she joined him on the grass. With Elsa tucked into the crook of his arm and surrounded by hundreds of glowing fire crystals, Bern felt more connected to the world than he'd ever felt in his life. The bits and pieces of information he'd been gathering about himself over the past several weeks started to coalesce into something coherent.

Augmented by the fire crystals around him, he could feel the power in his soul as a distinct force, part of him, and yet with its own sentience that linked him to the trolls and the earth. The cave trolls couldn't trap earth fire with the ice spell; it had come in response to the pain of a human girl for the purpose of healing and protection, to restore her connections to humanity and add a layer of protection to allow her damaged soul space to heal. Even the magical contaminant had been turned by the earth fire into a healing force – Bern's magical fires gave Elsa warmth that the rest of humanity took for granted, giving her an experience that everyone else had so she could fit in. Elsa's delight was their primary purpose. Bern understood that this force in his soul intended to end Elsa's isolation in every way possible, bringing her back to the network of humanity and family that had been so badly damaged by her father.

When Elsa used her magic on him, it had set off the latent power within him – inviting its greater involvement in her life. Anything that works by true love waits patiently for permission, never insisting or forcing its way into someone's life unwanted. Elsa hadn't been ready to trust anyone or anything for protection until she felt safe enough to use the power she no longer feared on someone she trusted. Had she never come to that point, he would have remained nothing more than an economist who could light a fire easily. But he was now actively her guardian and protector and would not willingly be separated from her. That was the uneasiness when she was gone – the concern that his charge was out of his sight.

Bern suggested that Elsa was more likely to defend him than the reverse; her magic was much more powerful than his. The earth fire responded with a hint of the strain and isolation Elsa felt at being sole protector, and a desire to be her equal so she could share the burden. Elsa would not be alone anymore in her duty and capacity to defend those she loved. Bern's abilities would defend her, and she in turn would defend everyone else.

Because this power responded to Elsa's needs, he wouldn't be able to use it at will for any other purpose, which explained why he couldn't duplicate what the earth fire had done on the ship to burn the betrothal agreement and prevent their separation. Only the weak magic was under his control; the earth fire would not augment his magic unless Elsa was being threatened. Bern felt chastised for wishing he could be powerful and impressive. He and this force in his soul were Elsa's guardian and protector, not a hero in their own right. Bern had just a moment to wistfully wonder if it would be better if he was a warrior instead of a half-blind economist before the peace was shattered by an ambush.


	26. Chapter 26 - Fire Hazard

**Chapter 26 – Fire Hazard**

Anna set Pixie off her lap and onto the ground; she was too heavy to hold. Pixie didn't protest – all of the troll children were quiet for once, watching with rapt attention as the fire crystals glowed and the adult trolls shifted around each other to reach Bern. There was a hint of music floating where Anna could almost hear it, a chime here and there that made her wonder what Bern was listening to right now.

Ever since Bern and Elsa had come back, Anna had been wondering at the change in Bern. Despite his eyesight and injury, he seemed more confident, older somehow, and more settled into himself. It wasn't that he looked any different, but there was a different feel to him now, almost like power except Bern wasn't someone who inspired descriptions like 'powerful.'

Her gaze shifted to Elsa. Elsa had her eyes closed, her head resting on Bern's shoulder. She was missing that undercurrent of tension that Anna only identified now that it wasn't there anymore. Elsa's happiness this past year had always been tentative – she still worried people wouldn't like her even while she did her best, her smiles always had an edge of surprise that she could want to smile, and her first instinct was to sacrifice her happiness. But happiness wasn't even the right word to describe her expression right now. Anna searched around and settled on 'serene.' Without the tension, Elsa looked serene. She felt safe, Anna realized, and for someone who had grown up in a miasma of fear, feeling safe must be next door to heaven.

The thought of safety called to mind a detail Anna had worried about almost constantly this past month as she and Kristoff fled from the soldiers. Very quietly, so as not to disturb whatever was happening between Bern and the fire crystals, she whispered, "Kristoff, who's on sentry duty?"

Kristoff looked around silently. The adult trolls had been serving as sentries, rolling up as rocks when Easthaven's soldiers were near, then following them to their camp to listen to their plans and report everything to the humans. But the trolls had all been eager to meet Bern. Anna watched Kristoff's expression and realized she'd been right – every single troll sentry had come to their camp at word that Bern was here.

An arrow flew into their camp and bounced harmlessly off of Sulda, who didn't even notice it. Anna stared at it for a second, not willing to believe what it meant, but then it was followed by another and then another. Vilrun was already on his feet, sword drawn, before Kristoff could yell, "we're under attack!"

It was the younger trolls who saved them, diving down into the dirt and softening it enough that the first wave of Easthaven soldiers fell in an undignified heap on the heaving ground before they could reach the camp, giving Anna enough time to pull her bow and arrow from her belongings. She swung the quiver over her back and notched an arrow just like Vilrun had taught her. She could hit a target fairly well now, but her shaking hands sent the first arrow wide of its target. Still, she fired off two more in quick succession, hoping to make them cautious even if she couldn't stop them. When her fourth arrow lodged in a man's leg, making him fall and scream, Anna stopped in shock.

The next arrow that came towards her fell to the ground, encased in ice. Around her, she heard the sounds of a skirmish, sword blades clashing and men shouting. Elsa was next to her now, blasting off shards of ice towards their attackers, but she could only face one direction at a time and Easthaven soldiers in their brown uniforms were pouring in from all directions at once. Elsa sprayed out a sheen of frost that temporarily blinded all the soldiers within her range, buying their small band a few precious seconds.

Bern was suddenly there, pulling her around by the arm and pushing her towards Elsa. "Get Anna out of here, Elsa! Save your sister!" Bern picked up Olaf and tossed him at Anna.

"Hold onto my waist, Anna!" Elsa called out.

Anna barely had time to set Olaf down and catch Elsa around the waist before she threw down the ice ribbon and started them off with a blast of power. The ice ribbon arched into the sky, over the heads of their attackers, arrows not even coming close because they were moving so fast. Anna's braids flew behind her in the wind of their flight, and then a wave of heat shimmered over her back and she didn't need to turn around to know that Bern had set the forest on fire.

~###~

Kristoff was frantic that he couldn't reach Anna. He and Vilrun were fighting back to back, with the Easthaven soldiers fighting an attack pattern that herded them further away from the clearing and the last place he'd seen Anna, feet planted the way Vilrun had taught her and nocking an arrow to her bow.

Bern hadn't even bothered to pull his sword. He picked up a fallen branch, easily two meters of light, dry wood, and swung it at the nearest soldiers, lighting it on fire. They dodged back from his attack, the one even dropping his sword. Kristoff saw the flames from the corner of his eye and realized the soldiers couldn't contain Bern the way he and Vilrun were trapped.

"Bern! Get the sisters out of here!" Kristoff shouted at him, then went back to fighting for his life.

Half a minute later, the forest caught fire. Sven neighed in panic. Kristoff heard trolls shouting gleefully, and then Bern brought a flaming branch down on the back of the soldier Kristoff was fighting and the man collapsed to the ground. "They're safe and gone," Bern said.

All around them, the Easthaven soldiers were in an undisciplined panic as random trees burst into flame, whether or not the one next to them was burning. Bern reached out and set a bush on fire, and the flames raced into the undergrowth much faster than Kristoff would have thought possible in this green and damp glade. It wouldn't take the soldiers much longer to realize Bern was the source of the unpredictable fires and target him.

"Retreat," Vilrun ordered. "Bern, cover our escape."

The Easthaven soldiers were more concerned with fleeing from the fire than with capturing them. Kristoff sheathed his sword and ran towards Sven. Sven wasn't panicked by the fire; he was jerking his head and trying to rear against the reins that Sir Lester was holding in one hand. With his other hand, he was trying to reach the sword he'd dropped. Kristoff slid to a stop. The two men locked eyes, and then Sir Lester went down under a rain of rocks as Rhone, Stone, Chone and Pone all jumped him at once. Sven paused to snort a slimy patch of disgust onto Sir Lester, with Kristoff already bellowing at him to hurry.

"Go! I'll catch up!" Bern yelled.

Kristoff was not stupid enough to believe that. He sent Vilrun with Sven and went only far enough to be out of the way when Bern ignited the trees between them and the few remaining soldiers who were still trying to follow orders. A retreating soldier staggered, pouring blood from the wound in his leg, and screamed when the fire engulfed him.

"That's enough!" Kristoff finally shouted at him, and pulled Bern away, the flames singing his eyebrows. Away from the clearing, Bern stumbled and tripped at every step as Kristoff desperately tried to put some distance between them and the forest fire. "Can you make it burn only towards the soldiers?" he shouted.

"I don't think so."

Sven galloped back to them and snorted at Bern.

"Get on," Kristoff translated.

Bern didn't argue. He mounted Sven and galloped off. Kristoff and Vilrun followed them at a run. Behind them, the fire crackled, flames reaching towards the impassive sky.

~###~

Elsa knew Bern was bright enough as an economist, but she didn't think of him as devious. So she and Anna were already several miles away from the ambush before it occurred to her that Bern had said the one thing that could have made her abandon him to the mercies of a hundred soldiers.

She slowed the ice ribbon, and gradually brought them back to earth, gliding in among the trees and settling them into a sun-dappled glade bordered by blue asters and carpeted with thick green thyme. Anna leaped off and Olaf fell after her.

"Wow! That's the fastest we've ever skied!" Olaf proclaimed.

Elsa hesitated rather than making the ice ribbon vanish in blue sparkles. It was her path to Bern; she couldn't get back to the clearing without the ice to guide her.

"The soldiers will follow it," Anna said.

With a wave of her hand, the ice ribbon disappeared.

"Do you think they're all right?" Elsa asked.

"Of course they are. Didn't you notice the fire?"

"Bern did that, didn't he?"

Anna nodded.

Elsa looked back the way they had come, then shook off her habit of worry. Bern, Kristoff, Vilrun and sixty trolls were more than a match for the soldiers from Easthaven, especially with Bern's newfound abilities. There had been such a feeling of safety when they were sitting with the trolls that Elsa couldn't feel any real alarm. Besides, the fight would be easier for them if she and Anna weren't there, at risk for capture.

Anna was walking around the glade, looking closely at the ground. "There's no limestone here. Let's keep going until we find a limestone seam so the trolls can find us."

With her bow and arrow still slung over her shoulder and her plain brown dress over a green-sleeved blouse, Anna didn't look much like the princess obsessed with wedding details that Elsa remembered from a month ago. Anna paused to study the sky, then climbed a tree to look around before pointing and saying, "That way."

"What's that way?" Elsa asked. A dryad, that's what she looked like. There had been a story about a dryad in one of Elsa's books of fairy tales she'd read as a child. The spirit of the tree was a woodland fairy whose dress matched the tree bark, with deep brown hair threaded with leaves. Anna's hair was the wrong color – the golden highlights were brighter from the sun, but the easy way climbed in and out of the tree recalled the dryad in the story.

"A waterfall. The rock formations around it will have limestone. Have you ever seen a waterfall, Elsa?"

"I've seen a waterfall!" Olaf announced. "Except it was frozen. Do you remember that one, Anna?"

"That's where we're going, Olaf."

As they walked out of the glade, Elsa plucked a handful of blue flowers and inserted them into Anna's braids as they walked.

"What are you doing?"

"It suits you," Elsa said. "Dryads always have flowers in their hair."

She was rewarded with Anna's lopsided smile.

~###~

"They know the queen is back in Arendelle now," Vilrun said to Kristoff. Several hours later, they were still hiking steadily, northwest, away from Arendelle and the ice lakes where they might be expected to go, trying to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the soldiers. The fire would have obliterated the tracks that might have revealed their direction, and the trolls had fanned out to look for soldiers. Cliff, Ghiff and Grand Pabbie had all been horrified at the scope of the destruction; Kristoff wasn't sure they'd ever thought the danger was real before the ambush. They thought of sentry duty as a game they played to humor Kristoff, but now all the trolls were very serious, and did not even have to be urged to hurry. Kristoff had sent Bulda to find Anna and keep her safe. Bulda had taken two dozen lady trolls with her and not even asked about the wedding.

Behind them, smoke trailed up into the late afternoon sky. Orange flames no linger licked the base of the smoke. The windless day allowed the fire to burn out; Norway's cool and damp mountain climate resisted spreading the flames any further. And yet Bern was still obviously shocked by what he'd done. For the first hour, he'd turned around on Sven's back every few seconds to watch the fire burn. Even now, his head was in his hands and he wouldn't talk to them.

"Do you think they'll figure out . . ." Kristoff just nodded in Bern's direction.

"It's hardly part of their military training," Vilrun said. "And soldiers are not encouraged to be creative."

Kristoff managed half a smile. His early friction with Vilrun was because he had far too many creative ideas for the older man to tolerate. Vilrun had changed his thinking to allow for Kristoff, trolls and magic, but it had taken an entire series of events to bring about the change. Over this past month, Kristoff had learned to trust Vilrun's judgment of Easthaven's military capabilities. Vilrun had gotten his military training at Easthaven's Military Academy, and chided Kristoff for thinking he'd learned all his tactics in Arendelle's Castle Guard. "The Guardsmen are good at what they do, but Arendelle doesn't have a military mindset," Vilrun had explained to him. "Of course our officers are trained at Easthaven. Captain Torvin attended the Military Academy as well. There was already talk about sending you there to study for a few years, though that won't happen now that our alliance with them is over."

Kristoff could see Vilrun was grieving the loss of his respect for Easthaven. Vilrun had studied under Major Felix, and knew several of the Easthaven officers personally. These were men he'd known as brothers in arms, and every so often he grew pensive and distant when the trolls brought them news. They'd violated an internationally recognized treaty, betraying their allies in the most horrible way imaginable. Vilrun had suggested that once King Frederick knew of his brother's treachery, he would repudiate it by sending forces to attack Prince Dominic's army and free Arendelle. Every day that passed reduced that hope further.

Vilrun had designed the strategies that had kept them safe this past month, with Kristoff filling in the details on implementation. The man's steady head and single-minded focus balanced out Kristoff's impulsiveness and creativity. Anna was soaking up lessons on strategy and campaign design as fast as Kristoff; she thought through the details better than he did.

The ground next to them collapsed inward in the familiar way that announced the arrival of a troll.

"No trace of soldiers around the lake," Cliff assured them, shaking dirt out of the shock of grass growing out of his head. "It's safe to camp there tonight. And Nixie brought a message from Bulda. She's found Anna and her Majesty. They're safe on the other side of Snowshoe Falls. Bulda will keep them there until you send word. Olaf said to tell you that he loves waterfalls, and skiing, and Anna is going to teach him how to shoot an arrow but Elsa says he can't have one with a sharp point."

"Thanks, Cliff," Kristoff replied.

"I'll go keep watch," Cliff said, and burrowed down and away without another word.

"Olaf will keep their spirits up," Vilrun said.

Kristoff's eyes went back to Bern, and he wished Olaf had stayed with them instead.

~###~

Bern clutched his head with both hands, pressing inward against the feeling of pressure filling his head. His eyes were shut, but even then, white patches would float against the darkness. When he opened his eyes, the light was blinding, and white patches obscured most of his vision anyway. The pain in his head blocked out everything; he was barely conscious of Sven's motion beneath him. Every so often, his head dropped forward far enough to get hit by Sven's neck as he walked.

Eventually, Sven stopped walking. Bern registered the absence of movement as a lessening of the pain of being jostled. Then within a few seconds, he was under water and the need to breathe outweighed the headache. He came up coughing and sputtering, to the sound of Sven drinking deeply from the lake. Bern reached towards Sven and dug his fingers into Sven's fur. The water was up to his chest, but he couldn't see which direction the shore was in, nor did he have the energy to get to shore.

"You may as well get cleaned up while you're in here." Kristoff's voice appeared next to him. "I'll go weave us some fishing baskets to catch something for dinner."

"Sure," Bern said, hoping Kristoff would go away so he could go back to leaning on Sven and trying not to pass out.

"Come on, Bern, don't let it worry you so much. You had to set the fire. Elsa's gotten over the fact she froze all of Arendelle; you don't need to lose it because you burned a few acres to save her life," Kristoff said brusquely.

That's right – he should have been obsessing about that right now. Intense pain certainly changed one's priorities.

"They're fine, in case you're wondering. Bulda sent word that Anna and Elsa are safe and far away," Kristoff went on.

Bern collapsed over Sven's back again. _Were you worrying about Elsa?_ Bern queried the internal heat. It would be convenient if the earth fire part of his soul could tell whether or not she was in danger from a distance. It responded with a level of concern Bern was coming to consider normal, and a hint that it had an opinion about what had happened with the forest fire. Bern spared a thought to wonder if the communion with the trolls' fire crystals had made this part of his soul permanently more articulate, or if he was just understanding it better now that he'd learned to listen to it. Then he wondered if talking to himself and genuinely expecting an answer was part of his headache instead. He groaned.

"What happened to you?" Kristoff asked.

"A headache," Bern said, though the effort to speak cost him. If he could just get out of the water and lie down somewhere dark, he could sleep until he felt better. None of these headaches ever lasted overnight.

They stopped trying to talk to him, and within a short time Bern was lying on a carpet of dead leaves under a hastily constructed lean-to. Kristoff put some leaves into his hand. "I found a feverfew plant. We don't have a pot to brew tea, but it should help if you can chew the leaves."

Chewing the leaves helped. And as dusk fell, the whiteness obscuring his vision faded to gray, and then he could even see a bit from his peripheral vision.

"Hey, Bern? Sorry to bother you, but can you set this on fire? We left behind all the matches and tinder." Kristoff offered him a branch, which Bern lit on fire. "Do you want some fish once we get it cooked?"

"No."

They left him alone after that, though he could hear the murmur of their voices and smell the smoke from the cooking fire. The sound of their fire crackled and popped, lulling him. He turned towards it, and even from a distance the orange flames soothed his eyes. He scooped up a handful of dead leaves and lit them on fire, cupping the flame in the palms of his hands. The leaves burned quickly, giving off a fair amount of smoke and only a few seconds of orange flame. He dropped the ashes and scooped up another handful of leaves to do it again. It eased the tension of missing Elsa. Eventually, the compulsion waned and Bern stopped setting leaves on fire. With the tension and pain both ebbing, he was able to relax. Then there was a thought in his head that didn't come from him: _There's a better way._

_You'll have to tell me tomorrow_, Bern replied to the thought.

He fell asleep and dreamed strange dreams of the deep places of the earth, dark and still, where time didn't matter and the pressure crushed coal into diamonds so slowly that only the rocks themselves lived long enough to see the transformation.


	27. Chapter 27 - Elsa's Choice

**Welcome back! This chapter picks up the morning after the ambush.**

**If you haven't read my one-shot story, "Princess Anna's Engagement Ring," now would be a good time to do so. It's important for these next several chapters.**

* * *

**Chapter 27 – Elsa's Choice**

The dawn sun was still only a crescent sitting atop the mountain ridge as Kristoff hauled up a fish trap and tossed it and its load of fish to Vilrun, who was standing on the rocky beach. The next fish trap was gone; the makeshift anchor that held it in place had unraveled and set it loose. Kristoff waded back to shore. Vilrun started cleaning fish for breakfast, using Kristoff's belt knife, the only tool they had besides the swords they'd been wearing when they'd fled the ambush.

Kristoff returned to their campfire ring. He was blowing on the banked embers and trying to catch twigs on fire when he jumped and startled at a feminine voice demanding, "Where's Bern?"

"Yeesh, Elsa, make some noise! He's over there."

Elsa strode off, leaving Anna drooping behind her on an ice ribbon.

"Did you ski in your sleep?" Kristoff chided her.

"Me? No, I've been up for hours," Anna said with a huge yawn.

"Right," Kristoff said, guiding her over to a log where she could sit down. She fell against his shoulder. Not even a month of camping had turned Anna into a morning person. How anyone could sleep through the sunrise outdoors was a mystery Kristoff could not solve.

Olaf ran up with Anna's bow and arrow. "Hey, Kristoff, do you want to watch me shoot an arrow?" Olaf nocked an arrow to the bow and tried to pull it. The arrow was both longer and thicker than both his twig arms combined, so with his best pull, Olaf could only send the arrow about eight inches from the bow. "That's the furthest I've ever shot an arrow!"

Kristoff chuckled.

Anna yawned again. "On the bright side, he hasn't lost any arrows."

Vilrun brought the cleaned fish and laid them out on the rock before taking over the fire from Kristoff, who was still holding his sleepy fiancé. "We didn't expect to see you so early."

Anna nodded. "That's Cliff's fault. He showed up in the middle of the night a few minutes ago and told Elsa that Bern had a headache. Would she go back to sleep after that? No, she would not. In fact, she's rather miffed that you didn't send word immediately."

Trixie and Vixie popped out of the rocks around the lake and splashed in with gleeful yells while Bulda rolled in to greet Kristoff. "Is Bern going to be all right?"

Kristoff glanced over to where Bern was lying with his head in Elsa's lap while she combed her fingers through his hair. "Yeah, I think he'll survive."

~###~

Elsa spent the day bullying Bern into resting more than he wanted and ignoring everything he said about feeling better. She regretted leaving him to deal with the ambush, since he'd strained himself and set off a headache. Bern got testy when she made the very reasonable suggestion that he shouldn't try to fight or use his magic again, but should let her do it all.

The following morning, Elsa made herself leave Bern alone. She still wanted him to rest, but he wasn't letting her pressure him today. While he was still being polite when he turned down her suggestions to rest more, she could tell he wished she would stop suggesting it. So when Anna reclaimed her bow and arrow from Olaf and set off along the lake shore, Elsa caught up to her, stuffing down her worry about Bern. It was nerve-wracking to love someone so much, especially when he wouldn't take care of himself the way she thought he should.

"How is Bern doing?" Anna asked as she picked out a trail through the underbrush.

"He's doing well enough to wish I would stop asking him how he's doing every twenty minutes," Elsa said.

"That's a good sign, right?" Anna turned her impish smile on Elsa and Elsa couldn't help but laugh and agree.

The lake shore hummed with the buzz of insects, and a bird dove down into the lake then beat back up with a fish struggling furiously in its beak. The morning air was crisp, the blue sky filled with puffy clouds and birdsong. The day was altogether too beautiful to be contaminated with the worries that had kept Elsa awake last night, but she asked anyway. "Anna, is Arendelle conquered? Does anyone think we'll ever defeat Easthaven and live in peace again?"

"We can't give up hope, Elsa."

"Hope won't win a war, Anna."

A shadow crossed briefly over Anna's expression, and then it was gone in the sunshine of Anna's optimism. "I told you we should have had Kristoff set off a tidal wave when Dominic first came, but we'll think of something else."

Elsa let it drop with half a smile, but she was thinking of the day in her ice palace last summer when Anna had told her she'd set off an eternal winter everywhere, then followed up that devastating news with her breezy assurance, "it's okay, you can just unfreeze it!" As if it would be that easy. Elsa didn't like to admit it, even to herself, but she'd been angry at Anna for that glib solution. It dismissed all the long struggle of her life in one sentence that showed that Anna would never understand her. Yet Anna had been right – the solution really had turned out to be as easy as she said it was. Elsa still had an inherent distrust of easy solutions. Vilrun's sober assessment of their bleak situation suited her better.

In the wee small hours of the night, she had even thought that it would have been better if she'd married Dominic and forestalled this entire disaster. It seemed to her that this terrible situation was her punishment for trying to be happy.

Anna started picking leaves off a plant that Elsa assumed would go into a stew. Elsa plucked a few, then startled back when Bulda burst out of the limestone with a bustle and grin. "We're having the wedding today! And don't you fuss about a dress – we've got that beautiful green robe we already tried to give you once."

Anna sighed and sat down by Bulda. Elsa got the impression that she'd had this conversation with Bulda several times. "Why today?"

"Gustav and Adele are almost here! They're the only other ones we needed to wait for, aren't they? Now that your sister is here, and that nice man who thinks he's a fire crystal, there isn't anyone else we need! I'll go fetch Cliff and send Trixie for flowers. Has anyone seen Grand Pabbie?" Bulda gave Elsa's knee a friendly pat and would have run off immediately if Elsa hadn't stopped her from leaving with more questions.

Bulda huffed at Elsa's suggestion she was mistaken. "I know Gustav quite well by now, and that's him down there," she said, pointing downhill. "Adele is with him and they each have a horse."

"Let's talk to Kristoff first, shall we?"

Bulda agreed with a brief delay to alert the groom, and was not at all happy when her announcement set off much alarm and no wedding plans among the humans.

It took several trips from the trolls, and sending Sven to swing around behind Gustav and Adele to see if they were being followed, but eventually Vilrun went down alone to meet them while the rest of them waited in strained silence, hidden in the trees and ready to run at a second's notice if another ambush appeared.

Vixie popped up out of the ground instead. "Vilrun says it's all right. They're coming."

Less than an hour later, they'd doubled the number of trolls on watch, including an irate Bulda who was convinced they were making her miss the wedding, and were listening to Gustav. "I've been turned loose as a messenger. They sent Adele with me as a goodwill gesture."

"They want our goodwill? Are they hoping for mercy from us, then?" Elsa asked, puzzled.

"Rather they're in such a position of strength right now that they can afford to be generous. Three ships from Weselton joined the ones freed from the ice, carrying three hundred soldiers apiece and armed with catapults. Your Majesty, this has dragged on long enough that if King Frederick wanted to disavow his brother's actions, he would have done it by now. We must conclude that Easthaven is fully complicit with Weselton," Gustav replied.

"Has the Southern Isles arrived?" Bern asked.

"Do you expect them?" Gustav asked. They hadn't had time to tell Gustav anything that had happened in Lingarth.

"No, but I wouldn't be surprised if they joined in," Elsa said.

"You said you were a messenger, Gustav," Vilrun prodded him.

Gustav produced a wax-sealed letter from his jacket that he handed to Elsa. "Prince Dominic had the gall to suggest it was reasonable and actually expects you to comply with it. While I do not know the specific contents, I assure you I speak for the Council when I say we have no intention of obeying his demands. And Bern, this one is for you – from your mother. I assume you heard she'd gone to Weselton." Gustav handed Bern another letter, which Bern tucked away into his jacket unopened.

Anna hung over Elsa's shoulder to read the letter from Dominic. "As if! That man is even more odious than Hans! Elsa, let's freeze the letter into a glacier and drop it on his head. That would be a clear answer, don't you think? And we wouldn't even have to be careful of our spelling!"

"We can't, Anna, that would play right into his hands. Don't you see that's what he wants us to do? You didn't hear them, Anna – the princes from the Southern Isles – but I've already heard this threat from them," Elsa said, her voice shaking. Frost crackled around Elsa's fingers, freezing the paper, until Bern came to stand behind her and put his hands around hers. Elsa was caught between her greatest love and her deepest fear, and she didn't know which one to choose.

Kristoff took the letter from her and read it out loud.

_My dear Elsa,_

_I gave you a chance to work with me, but you refused. You must recognize that a power like yours is too dangerous to allow you any freedom at all, much less the authority you pretend to wield as queen. We, the rulers of the newly formed Coalition of Shoreline Kingdoms, are in agreement that you pose too great a danger to the safety of our people. Our quarrel is with you, not with your people. If you surrender yourself and agree to cooperate with either imprisonment or exile, to be determined by a council of your fellow monarchs, we will leave Arendelle in peace under the guidance of a Committee of Advisors who will ensure Arendelle manages its affairs in a way that doesn't impinge on the well-being of its neighbors._

_Elsa, I appeal to your sense of fair play. None of us can meet you in battle on equal grounds. Your magic is simply too overwhelming, too dangerous, for any real human to counter. In short, you cheat. But we humans are all agreed that the threat you pose to the world is not one we can ignore, and so we cannot surrender to you. Any use of your freakish abilities to defend either yourself or your kingdom will be met with further invasion. Will you freeze us all? Will you destroy our lands with an eternal winter? Will you murder the armies of seven kingdoms with ice and snow and leave armies of widows and orphans to starve and die in the cold you create? The untold suffering you could pour out upon all of us should give pause to anyone who wishes to be human. We cannot yield in the face of your threat. If you choose to fight us to total annihilation, you may eventually prevail. And then you can rule over the blasted desolation that will remain once you've unleashed your witchcraft to stop those who only desire to stop you before you destroy us all._

_If you'd married me,_

There Kristoff stopped.

"Finish it, Kristoff," Bern said.

_If you'd married me, there was a chance I could have contained your threat and stood between you and the world. But we've all seen the man you chose instead, and he's too weak to control you. If he wants to join you in exile or imprisonment, that can be arranged._

_I tried to save you from all this, Elsa, but you left me no choice. Send word by Gustav tomorrow morning. If you delay, we'll be forced to start throwing castle staff off the wall into the harbor to speed you along, though I'll try to save your Councilors for last._

_Do the right thing, Elsa. Don't be the monster we all fear you are._

_Best regards,  
Prince Dominic  
_

"I should have burned it," Gustav said. Adele was clinging to his hand, her patrician features frozen into a mask of horror.

Kristoff made a show of offering the letter to Bern, but he only shook his head.

"I'll surrender," Elsa said.

"You will not!" burst from several throats at once.

"I can't fight them all. We're already defeated, and even if we beat back the army already here, you heard his threat – army after army after army pouring into Arendelle one after another. We don't have an army ourselves. What will we do after all the Castle Guards have been killed? It would be me, wouldn't it? I'd be the only one who could defend Arendelle, and I'd have to do it by killing soldiers – men who are only following orders, who left a wife at home, or a mother. How long do you think I could keep that up? How many of them would I slaughter before I surrendered anyway just to stop the bodies from piling up any deeper? I'm not a monster!" Elsa cried out.

"No one thinks you're a monster, Elsa!" Anna protested.

"They all do! And if I fight them, I prove them right. I wouldn't even kill that guard from Weselton who was trying to kill me in my ice palace last summer. I wouldn't kill Dominic when he was having Bern flogged to death. Do you really think I can fight an army? I may have the power to do it, but I don't have the heart for that much murder, and Dominic knows it."

"You're our queen, your Majesty. We'll all fight to defend you," Vilrun said.

"So I can watch all of you die, Vilrun? Is that the plan? I'm not going to kill people, and I'm not going to watch the people I love die on my behalf. There's another way to save all of you and Arendelle too. As your queen, I order all of you to cooperate with my surrender," Elsa said.

"You are not just a queen, Elsa," Bern said, still holding her hands.

Bern understood her so well in so many ways that it made her angry he couldn't understand why surrender was her only option. "Not even you can stop me, Bern, so don't embarrass yourself by trying."

Bern let go and stepped away from her, lips pressed together. He moved too quickly and stumbled, then caught a branch in the face when he was trying to regain his balance.

Elsa regretted her words as soon as she'd said them. "Bern, I didn't mean it like that!"

"Yes, you did."

She tried to dab the blood from his cheek where the branch had scraped him, but he jerked out of her reach. She knew she deserved that, but it still stung.

"All of you, please, just leave me alone! I need some time alone," Elsa said, sitting down on a rock, folding her arms and squeezing her eyes shut. She didn't want to see the ice around her feet. Ice, magic, mistakes – every time Elsa thought she could live with who she was, events conspired to show her that there was no place on earth for someone like her. She couldn't be herself and be accepted. And so she slipped back into the persona of the Queen of Arendelle.

One by one, she heard them leave the clearing, Sven lowing a question while Kristoff spoke to him and the wagon wheels creaked as they left. When it was quiet, she opened her eyes. "I meant you too," she said to Bern.

"Are you ordering me away as my queen or as my wife?"

Elsa was the one who had chosen to marry Bern. The Queen of Arendelle knew she should have married Dominic and forestalled this entire disaster. "The Queen of Arendelle is handling matters now."

"You told me once that the Queen of Arendelle doesn't like me much."

"She's taking over! I've made too many mistakes, my magic is too much of a threat no matter how well I control it, and she's taking over again." Elsa could sacrifice herself for the good of Arendelle, but it was already tearing her apart to sacrifice Bern and her love for him. She wished he wouldn't look at her like that.

"The Queen of Arendelle is rethinking our marriage entirely, isn't she?"

"Bern, you have to see that everything has changed."

"Yes, I can 'see' that quite well."

"That's not what I meant! It's this war." Elsa stood up to pace. She couldn't meet Bern's eyes any longer. He wanted things she couldn't give anymore, not if she meant to save Arendelle.

"Kristoff can't win the war for you this time, and I'm defeated before I even tried. I shouldn't embarrass myself with another attempt. Did I understand correctly?"

"You can't use your influence as my husband to keep me from doing what's best for Arendelle."

"I'm not married to the country; I'm married to a woman. And as her husband, I want to keep her from doing something that would be terrible for her as a woman and a wife. If I don't have that sort of influence, then I'm not much of a husband."

"It isn't your decision!" Why couldn't any of them see how torn she was? She needed support and understanding, not an argument.

"Then whose is it?" Bern asked. "Is it the Queen of Arendelle's decision? Or Elsa's? What if the two of you disagree? I should be the one to cast the deciding vote in a dispute among the three of us."

"We are not Americans, Bern. Majority doesn't rule here."

"The Queen of Arendelle is quite the dictator."

"She's doing what's best for Arendelle. She has to protect Arendelle. Don't you see? Don't you see she's trying to protect Elsa as well? I can't murder all those people, Bern. She knows I don't have what it takes to freeze every foreign soldier in Arendelle. She's trying to save me from being a monster, Bern. I have to surrender to save myself! Why can't you see that?"

"Perhaps the Queen of Arendelle should trust her husband to protect both Elsa and Arendelle rather than discarding him as useless."

"The Queen of Arendelle doesn't trust anybody."

There was a very long pause, so long that Elsa risked a glance at Bern. He was studying her with a detached expression, which wasn't what she'd expected at all. She'd expected devastation, pleading, love, anything except that look that was measuring her.

"Will you let me surrender with you?" he asked.

"No."

There was another long pause. Bern stopped studying her and instead studied the ground. Elsa could almost feel the relationship between them shifting and changing.

At last he spoke. "I will respect your wishes, Elsa. I can't force you to trust me. I won't help you convince anyone else because I disagree with your decision, but I won't try to change your mind. I will let you leave me if that's what you want."

Elsa was so shocked she had to sit down and the truth burst out of her. "It's not what I want at all! I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but I can't do that and save Arendelle too. Bern, can't you understand?"

"I understand that you can only see that option."

"Don't you patronize me!" Elsa shouted at him. A few moments ago, she'd thought she'd wanted someone to support her decision to surrender herself, and now she was angry that she'd gotten what she'd wanted. "And you're lying anyway! Your deepest fear is rejection. You'll come after me, you'll make me stay with you, and you're just saying you'll let me leave you but you don't mean it. Don't you play mind games with me!"

"I'm not lying, Elsa. You can leave me if you want. It will break my heart, but I'll get through it and learn to live without you. My deepest fear isn't rejection anymore."

He looked so calm, standing there and watching her cry. She couldn't catch her breath properly. Deep inside of her, something was wrenching open, down where she'd stuffed it years and years ago, burying it under layers of different fears, all of them designed to protect this one last fear that was more horrible than all the rest of them put together. She wouldn't be able to bear it if she looked at it, but if she didn't, she would lose Bern, and she couldn't bear that either. Caught between her greatest love and her deepest fear, Elsa stayed in the fight. "Tell me," she said to Bern.

"My deepest fear is being like my mother. She wants me to love her; she's desperate for me to love her. What could be more natural than for a mother to want her son to love her? It's her methods, not her motives, that make her evil. She's willing to use any method to force me to stay with her, even ruining my life. She won't let go, even though I need her to. Her very need has driven me away from her.

"I want my wife to love me, but if I force you to stay with me, I become like my mother, and I won't do that. You can reject me, and I'll survive. I'll even forgive you. You don't have to stay with me if you think it's best to leave. I love you enough to let you make your own decision about our relationship rather than manipulating you with my fears. That's my mother's method, and I refuse to use it."

"You don't want to be like your mother?" Elsa asked woodenly. There was something both terrible and liberating about that idea.

"No."

"Can you just do that? Can you decide you don't want to be like someone and then do it, just like that?" Elsa said, her voice shaking.

"I'm certainly trying," Bern replied.

"Do you think I could do it?"

"Who?"

"My father was a good king, Bern. He wanted what was best for Arendelle. Do you think I'm like him?" Elsa asked, watching Bern intently, as if her very life depended on the answer.

"I think you want what's best for Arendelle," Bern began.

"Then I'm like him," Elsa interrupted, and her whole being shuddered at the thought.

"Methods matter, Elsa. Everyone thinks they want good things; even Dominic probably thinks he's doing the right thing, but you have to look at the methods they use. There are some lines the good guys cannot cross and remain the good guys. If they cross those lines, then the battle isn't good against bad anymore; it degenerates into bad against worse. It isn't necessarily what you want that makes you good or bad – it's the method you're willing to use to get it. Do you want the same thing your father wanted? Yes. But are you willing to use the same methods?"

Elsa nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. That last fear had wrenched open and she told it to Bern. "My deepest fear is that my father did the right thing. Father sacrificed all my trust and happiness for the good of Arendelle. That's why I keep trying to leave you and marry Dominic. Father always wanted me to sacrifice all my happiness for Arendelle. I'm so scared he's right that I keep trying to do it too."

Bern smoothed down a windblown lock of hair that had escaped Elsa's braid. "I see why you can't believe that you aren't just the country; you're a person too. Your father never let you separate those two roles, did he?"

Elsa shook her head.

"He was a good king, but he was a terrible father."

"I'm like him," Elsa said. "I don't want to be, but I am. I keep trying to do what he wanted me to do."

"It's your methods that would separate you from him. Motives matter, but methods are everything. Would you do to someone else what your father did to you? If you had a daughter, and you had to choose between protecting her childhood happiness or sacrificing her to make things easier for Arendelle, which would you choose?"

Elsa almost stumbled on the question before remembering that she'd already made that choice. "I chose my daughter's happiness." The tears changed from fear to wonder as she remembered why she'd chosen Bern over Dominic.

"Then you're not like him."

"I'm not like my father," Elsa repeated. "I don't have to be like him and I don't have to do what he wanted me to do." That fear that had ruled her life crumbled to dust in the light of day, conquered by choice. Tentatively at first, she stepped away from her deepest fear towards her greatest love. "Bern, don't leave me, don't ever leave me."

Bern swept her into his arms, heat like sunflower petals wrapping around her, all Elsa's fear bleeding away into that blanket of safety. He kissed her until she melted against him. "Queen of mine, I'll ask again. Do you trust me to protect you and Arendelle?"

"Yes."

"I can't help you against your will, Elsa. But if you'll trust me, it unlocks this power in my soul that came to heal and protect you."

Elsa was so wrung out and relieved that she didn't even think to ask if there would be any danger to him.

~###~

"I've decided not to surrender myself," Elsa said when they found the rest of the group.

Anna shrieked with joy, waved triumphant fists in the air, and then threw herself into a hug. Elsa watched, bemused, because she was hugging Bern.

"Thank you for talking sense into her!" Anna said.

"You're welcome," Elsa said.

So Anna hugged her too. Then she wouldn't let go, and Elsa had to talk to the rest of them over Anna's shoulder until they all sat down to make plans.

"Our best outcome is a decisive victory without using her Majesty's magic," Vilrun said. "Let them see that Arendelle has no ambitions beyond her own borders, and no intention to conquer the world with magic. That may weaken this coalition Prince Dominic claims they have in place. He may be exaggerating their willingness to keep fighting in the face of defeat."

"Well-stated, Vilrun. Do you have plans in place for such a victory?" Gustav asked, looking to Kristoff.

"No," Kristoff answered. "We've gotten a few ice harvesters into the castle, but they don't have orders to fight, just to gather information and get out. Until we can get the hostages in the castle out, we can't start a pitched battle."

"The goal of a pitched battle wouldn't even be to kill their soldiers. We want to take out their leaders," Anna added. "It's like the War of Breiwick in 1530 – once the king and his advisors were killed, everyone went home. Prince Dominic and Sir Lester are the reason everyone is here. Once they're gone, the problem is gone."

"Weselton is here now too," Gustav reminded her.

"And the Southern Isles may be on its way," Elsa added.

"Bern, did your mother hint about Weselton's intentions in her letter?" Gustav asked.

"I haven't read it yet," Bern admitted. It would be full of his mother's poisonous combination of truth and viciousness, and would shred his self-worth, which someone else would witness because he couldn't even read it privately. He didn't want Elsa to help with this – his pride and dignity as a husband had already taken too much of a beating. And he'd rather die than risk any more pity from Kristoff or Anna.

"Go ahead then, we'll wait," Gustav said.

"Bern, walk with me a minute, would you?" Vilrun said. He got to his feet without waiting for an answer and turned Bern around by the elbow. Bern went with him to avoid being there while everyone explained his vision to Gustav.

"I know Lady Nadja, Bern," Vilrun said, and left it at that.

"If you could, then," Bern said, handing Vilrun the letter.

He read it out loud, then handed it back to Bern.

Bern nodded and folded the letter back up. "Did you leave anything out?"

"Yes, but nothing of importance. Would you like me to convey the information?"

"No, thank you, Vilrun. I'll do it. I'll be just a moment."

When he returned to the group, he spared a thought to be grateful he couldn't see the pitying expressions he was sure were on Gustav's and Adele's faces. "Mother doesn't say anything of tactical importance. She's married again already. Mother never could stand to be alone. And, ah, since she wasn't invited to my wedding, she makes it clear that I don't need to send her congratulations or a gift," Bern said. "I suppose that's the good news."

"Was there bad news?" Elsa asked.

Bern cleared his throat and stammered a minute. "Well, Elsa, it appears that your new father-in-law is the Duke of Weselton."

With a moan, Gustav dropped his head into his hands.

"Way to ruin foreign policy, Bern," Kristoff said smugly.

~###~

Humans. They lived too fast and died too soon, but for all that, they were still as cute as rabbits. And just that easy to kill, too. Grand Pabbie looked out over the valley piled three deep in cave trolls. It looked as if the earth had disgorged every troll who had failed to become the earth's guardians over the centuries and piled them all into this one valley. Tens of thousands of them, rolling and trembling, a violent mass of rock and hatred, searching for a target. They could crush all the humanity in Arendelle without remorse.

Grand Pabbie had never seen them gathered in such numbers before, and knew it was in response to something else that had never happened before. Earth fire without a fire crystal had never existed before. It was exposed, defenseless, vulnerable to theft. The rock trolls never worried about the cave trolls trying to steal their fire crystals, because fire crystals could defend themselves. But this earth fire didn't have a fire crystal, just that human who drank the potion.

On the opposite hill, silhouetted by the setting sun, a human woman appeared, tall and graceful, the sunlight barely creating a corona around her black, spiraled hair. One of the cave trolls went to speak with her. Then another human appeared, a small thin man who held himself tensely and startled every time the grinding mass of cave trolls shifted.

Grand Pabbie burrowed down into a limestone vein to get closer to the humans. He was perfectly safe; cave trolls couldn't travel underground – the earth wouldn't tolerate it. He rolled along the limestone and stopped under the meeting, where he could hear well enough.

"If you gave her the magic, you can take it back," the woman was insisting.

"Never done it," the cave troll replied.

"My dear, is this really necessary? Surely we don't need to consort with these magical creatures. Ah, but whatever you think best, of course. Ha ha, just a suggestion," the man said.

"Then why are you out here if you don't want your spell back?" the woman asked.

"You stole earth fire from us. Fed it to your son. We want it back," the cave troll said.

"I didn't steal it – you gave it to me. And how do you intend to get it back?" the woman demanded.

There was silence.

"You won't harm him," the woman insisted.

"We'll find a way to get it back," the troll repeated.

"Her magic is connected to the earth fire; you told me that. If you undo her magic, it will free the earth fire. It's followed that ice spell for this long. You take her magic, and the earth fire will find a way to follow it. Simplicity itself!" the woman said.

"Really, my dear, we could find another way to help your son," the man said.

"He's enslaved by her magic, Alan, there is no other way," the woman said.

The man subsided, mumbling objections about sorcery.

Grand Pabbie rolled away. It was one thing for Kristoff to claim that bad guys had invaded Arendelle again and ask for their help. It was another thing entirely for the humans to start stirring up the cave trolls and seeking earth fire. The earth herself would get involved if she felt the trolls couldn't provide enough protection, and there was no telling if the humans would survive a cataclysm like that.

~###~

After another hour of futile discussion about non-existent options grew tense, Gustav suggested a brief recess and they all scattered. Bern followed Kristoff. He'd promised Elsa that morning that he had a way to protect her if she would trust him, but he had no idea about the specifics. He hadn't been able to propose a plan because he didn't have one yet, and every time Elsa looked at him and he deferred a comment, he wondered if she was regretting her decision to trust him.

"Kristoff?"

"Hmm?"

"During the Battle of Arendelle, did you kill anyone?"

Kristoff sat down on a rock and started idly whittling a stick. "I know some soldiers died because of what I did. Some of them froze to death, or were crushed in the flood I set off. I didn't stick a sword in anyone personally, except for stabbing Oslin when he tried to kidnap Anna. He survived until they hung him."

Bern picked up a branch and broke it into pieces, then lit it on fire on the palm of his hand. "I've never killed anyone."

Kristoff looked like he was about to say something, and then changed his mind. Bern almost asked him to say it, then remembered he'd heard a man screaming when they'd fled the ambush and decided he didn't want to hear Kristoff tell what he might have seen. Perhaps he had already killed someone. Bern dumped the burnt twigs on the dirt and ground them under his boot, deciding not to think about it. "Tell me about the miracle. Grand Pabbie said you've done a miracle."

Kristoff shrugged. "It wasn't a big one. It had to do with creating Anna's engagement ring. Grand Pabbie gave me a diamond fire crystal chip and a piece of gold. It took a miracle to put them together. That was the first time I heard him explain how souls, true love and miracles are all connected."

"How did you do it?" Bern pressed.

Kristoff peeled off more wood before answering. "I stopped worrying that Anna should want a real prince instead of me."

Bern waited.

"The ring came together. That's it."

"How did that put Anna's needs ahead of your own?" Bern asked.

"I don't know. I guess Anna needed me to man up and be who she needed rather than wishing someone else would bump me out of her life and I could spend the rest of my life whining about it. Something like that, probably."

"Your eloquence astounds me."

"Yeah, I can read too. You thinking a miracle might help Elsa?"

"I believe the earth fire will help. It has ideas, but I don't hear them clearly. I don't want to use fire. Burning down Arendelle would be even worse than freezing Arendelle. It gets rid of our enemies, but it doesn't leave much for us," Bern said.

"Then it won't happen like that," Kristoff said. "Souls aren't stupid. The trolls don't have any fire magic anyway – their connection is with things under the earth – so that stuff in your soul probably isn't thinking of fire. That's your idea, and it's a bad one, like you said. Get rid of your ideas. That's when your soul can get to work. I stopped thinking about what I wanted, focused on what Anna wanted, and that's when things started to happen."

"So all I have to do is give up everything I've ever wanted?" Bern asked drily.

"No one says it's easy. I told you once that running the race only looks easy to the guys sitting on the sidelines. You have to get in and do it anyway," Kristoff said. He sighted down the sharpened stick to see if it was straight.

"Yeah." What he wanted was straightforward enough. He pictured himself dueling Dominic, and after several exchanges that dazzled the bystanders with his sword skills, his sword would burst into flame. Dominic would cower in fear and beg for mercy, and Bern would decide whether to run him through with a flaming sword or hold him for a ransom high enough to solve all Arendelle's economic woes. His revenge on Dominic would humiliate him so thoroughly that no one would ever dare bother Elsa again. Then everyone in Arendelle would cheer him; they would hold parades and feasts in his honor. News of his fame and courage would spread throughout the world. Elsa would be so impressed with him she would be willing to risk quadruplets this month.

Bern sighed.

If he set aside his fantasy about being a war hero and getting revenge on Dominic, then what was left?

Elsa. His ego was a small price to pay to make Elsa happy. He loved her so much it almost hurt to think about her – the way she still looked a little bit startled about being happy, how bossy she'd gotten about his health, how hard she tried to get it right, the surprising strength that appeared just when she seemed too fragile to take one more setback. She needed Arendelle to be safe.

Elsa didn't need him to win a battle; she needed the battle to not happen at all. The thought came so clearly that Bern knew it wasn't entirely from him. As soon as it appeared in his mind, it was so obvious he wondered that it hadn't been there all along. He'd seen the toll it had taken on her when they'd fought a battle last fall against only a few hundred mercenaries. The terror, guilt and stress of a battle this size would remain with Elsa long after a victory, contaminating whatever peace they forced upon their enemies.

"Hey Bern? I had another thought about that miracle I did for Anna. I kept thinking she needed someone really impressive and amazing, and really she just needed me to be myself – you know, have confidence in who I already was rather than thinking she'd be better off if I was someone else," Kristoff said.

Bern heard the suggestion Kristoff was making and snorted derisively. "You think Elsa just needs me to be myself? Seriously, we're facing the armies of three kingdoms and she needs me to be an economist instead of a warrior?"

"It's not like you have any options, so you may as well want to be who you are," Kristoff went on relentlessly.

That deflated Bern's anger. Kristoff was right, and he was wasting precious time by devising plans based on himself as a powerful warrior. He needed a plan, based on being an economist, that didn't have anything to do with setting Arendelle on fire. Fire. Kristoff was right that his ability with fire was from the magic potion, not from the earth fire. But there was still heat under the ground, caused by that tremendous pressure that could melt rock and ore. Kristoff said the trolls were connected with the things beneath the earth; that's where his real power would lie too, but as an economist and not a warrior.

"You know, I've always said that battles get all the glory, but a country lives and dies on economics," Bern mused aloud. "The thing is, armies live and die on economics too."

"Grand Pabbie just showed up," Kristoff said, interrupting Bern's thoughts and pointing to the rocks around the lake. "Come on."

~###~

Elsa had fallen silent since Grand Pabbie had arrived with news of the cave trolls and their malicious interest in the connection between her magic and Bern's soul. The rest of them had gone back to chewing on the military impossibility of their situation. Adele provided the welcome news that she, Mirabelle, Charlotte and Edith had hidden some of the weapons belonging to the Castle Guards, and even kept about a dozen of the Castle Guards out of Easthaven's makeshift prison by disguising them as bakers, street sweepers, and other laborers around Arendelle Village. Four ice harvesters had smuggled themselves into the castle, but they had no way to pass messages to them until they came back over the causeway. Arendelle had sixteen men against the thousand that Prince Dominic and the Duke of Weselton had brought, and no workable plan to rescue the hostages in the castle. Elsa's last contribution to the discussion had been to volunteer to make an ice skiff, like the one she'd used to return to Arendelle, that they could use to rescue hostages when they were thrown into the harbor. She knew she'd be targeted by every archer Easthaven, Weselton, and the Southern Isles could muster, and didn't protest when Vilrun politely turned her down.

"I shall bring word of the cave trolls to the other trolls in the Valley of Living Rock," Grand Pabbie interrupted when it became clear that the humans were more concerned with the military invasion than with the cave trolls.

"Will Bern be all right?" Elsa asked.

The humans turned to look at Elsa.

"Grand Pabbie said the cave trolls are after Bern's soul. Will they try and take his soul?" Elsa asked.

"Of course they'll try. They can't do it, though. No one can take a soul from someone else or the cave trolls would have stolen ours eons ago," Grand Pabbie said.

"That's a relief," Kristoff said on Bern's behalf.

"They're cave trolls, so they'll make the attempt anyway." Grand Pabbie said with a resigned shrug. "He may be dead before they admit they can't do it."

"That's a little troublesome, Grand Pabbie," Bern said.

"The difficulty is that you don't have a fire crystal to protect your soul. Earth fire always brings its own fire crystal, and the crystal takes care of it," Grand Pabbie said with a sigh of concern.

"How exactly does a fire crystal do that?" Bern asked.

Vilrun shifted impatiently and cleared his throat. "While this is all very interesting,"

"I want to hear this, Vilrun," Bern cut him off. "How does a fire crystal fight, Grand Pabbie?"

Elsa flicked a measuring glance at Bern. That was the first time she'd seen him use the authority that he'd inherited upon their marriage.

"It doesn't fight the way you humans fight. It flares with a purity of light and heat that drives away anything with evil intentions towards the substance it exists to protect. There isn't a battle – we've never fought the cave trolls – they know they can't win," Grand Pabbie explained. "They haven't tried in eons now. Once the fire crystals begin to flare, the earth gets involved, and that ends badly for the cave trolls."

"What does the earth do?" Bern pressed.

Grand Pabbie frowned thoughtfully. "Whatever seems appropriate. Most commonly, a volcano erupts, or an earthquake occurs, and there was that one time when all the continents split apart."

There was silence among the humans.

"And people think I'm a natural disaster," Kristoff finally said.

"You have spent more time than most humans around trolls," Grand Pabbie commented. "It appears that sort of tendency rubs off."

"What about a tidal wave?" Anna asked eagerly.

"Vilrun, we may be focusing on the wrong crisis," Gustav said.

"We can't do anything about the cave troll crisis," Vilrun argued back.

"What triggers the fire crystal? How does it know when to flare?" Bern asked.

"And what happens to the fire crystal afterward?" Elsa broke in, suddenly seeing where Bern's line of questions was leading.

"A fire crystal is part of a soul, so it all works by love," Grand Pabbie said. "The threat triggers the flare. There is no greater love than to sacrifice yourself for the one you are sworn to protect. That's the fire crystal's entire purpose."

"That's hardly enough information to plan a military campaign," Vilrun huffed.

"This isn't about victory anymore, Vilrun," Bern said.

"Does the fire crystal die as part of its sacrifice?" Elsa demanded of Grand Pabbie.

Grand Pabbie looked puzzled. "It's a rock, your Majesty."

"Why are we worried about fire crystals?" Anna asked.

"Because I _am_ the fire crystal," Bern said. "Isn't that right, Grand Pabbie? And I'm not here only to protect the earth fire in my soul; I'm here to help it carry out its mission to protect Elsa. That's why this earth fire didn't want a typical fire crystal – it couldn't accomplish its purpose if it was someplace safe."

"You will _not_," Elsa said fiercely. "How dare you talk me out of sacrificing myself and then suggest that you'll go in my place. You know I'll never agree to that."

"You were going to sacrifice yourself to Dominic out of fear. A sacrifice made for love is entirely different," Bern said.

"Not if you end up dead!" Elsa cried out.

"He's right, your Majesty," Grand Pabbie said. "He understands what the fire crystals must do. It isn't something that any of us could interfere with. I couldn't stop my fire crystal from flaring, even if I wanted to."

Elsa's frantic gaze landed on the fire crystals resting on Grand Pabbie's stone palm. They glowed with a deep, steady light that drew out her panic, spinning it away down a line that invited her to trust instead of fear. Without asking permission, Elsa fell to her knees and clasped Grand Pabbie's fire crystals between her bare hands. The shock of the contact blew another spray of fear out of her heart and scattered it into nothing. And behind it, she felt the character of stone – an immensity and strength that patiently waited for the earth's purposes to be fulfilled under their watchful gaze. Elsa wondered how much of Bern's patience was related to the part of his soul that was born in the deep places of the earth.

"Why, Grand Pabbie? What's it all for? Why does the earth fire even want to come to the surface of the earth if it's so much safer underneath? Why take these risks at all?" Elsa asked. Holding the fire crystals expanded her view beyond her own fears, and she sensed she was part of a larger purpose. It seemed to her that if she could understand where she fit into the world, she could fear less and trust more.

"For the sake of love, for true love and the joy it brings," Grand Pabbie said. "You know the definition by now."

"Love is putting someone else's needs ahead of your own," Olaf supplied.

Grand Pabbie nodded. "Do you see what conditions are necessary for true love?"

"Separate individuals," Bern said. "You can't put someone else's needs ahead of your own unless there is someone who is separate from you with different needs."

"You told me this once, Grand Pabbie," Kristoff said. "You said that there are masses of earth fire underground, and only the parts of it that want to become separate make their way to the surface and wake up a troll."

"Yes. That melted mass of earth fire is safe, but it's also melted together so that nothing has a separate need. But to have a real community bound together by true love, there must be separate individuals with separate needs, and choices to respond to those needs. The earth finds joy in being part of a community of unique individuals, as do we all," Grand Pabbie said.

Community. She was learning to be part of the small community of family and the larger community of Arendelle. It was as simple as learning to love and be loved, and as difficult as letting go of her fears. She was part of the whole, to the extent she would allow herself to be. She let go of Grand Pabbie's fire crystals and stepped backwards to where Bern had his hands lightly on her arms. Bern needed her support to realize his potential as her guardian and protector; he'd already told her that and she'd agreed to do it. She couldn't unmake that choice without turning away from Bern entirely and destroying their relationship.

"You have to do this, don't you?" Elsa asked him sadly.

"Yes."

"All right." Elsa took a deep breath. "Our plan is settled. Bern will go to Arendelle tomorrow morning in my place."

"They'll kill him," Gustav protested.

"They won't kill me," Bern said. "Dominic owes me a duel. He enjoys humiliating me enough that he won't pass up the chance to do it again. I'll live long enough to get to Dominic and then let my soul take over and work a miracle."

They all started objecting at once.

"Bern . . ."

"Let's think that through a little more . . ."

"Perhaps . . ."

"Are you crazy?"

"Wait, what?"

"It's the only viable plan anyone has proposed," Elsa said.

There was a pause, and then Vilrun said, "Your Majesty, perhaps we need to define the characteristics of a 'viable plan' with a little more accuracy."

"You're not going to send Bern into a war alone with his eyesight?!" Kristoff said.

"I'd like to take Anna with me," Bern said.

"Anna could go with him, if she wants," Elsa said. "She's the only other person I know who can sacrifice everything to save someone she loves. You all watched her do it last summer."

"That was different! No one had time to talk sense into her," Kristoff said.

"Then let's not talk sense into Bern," Elsa said. "Because if you had talked sense into Anna last year, I'd be dead, her heart would still be frozen, and Hans would be ruling Arendelle. We should avoid being sensible at all cost."

"Exactly! Who needs sense? Of course I'll go with Bern!" Anna said.

Kristoff started to protest Anna's involvement and insist he was coming too.

"No, Kristoff, you're coming with me," Elsa said.

"Where are you and Kristoff going?" Bern asked.

"With Grand Pabbie – we've got to stop the cave trolls. And I've got a few things to say to my mother-in-law."

* * *

**The next chapter will be posted in a couple of days.**


	28. Chapter 28 - Scattered Allies

**Chapter 28 – Scattered Allies**

"Bern? Why did you want me to come with you?" Anna asked. They were riding the horses Gustav and Adele had arrived on, letting the horses slowly pick their way down the mountainside in search of a trail in the early morning light.

"I need your help with the timing. The earth is content to wait and see what happens, and I think that attitude has soaked into my own character too. If we're going to save Arendelle, I need this power to flare at the right moment. If it's just me, I might set it off a week late," Bern said.

"You want me to help with magic? Bern, there's nothing magical about me. I'm only ever completely ordinary," Anna said. She was feeling outclassed again. Elsa had powerful magic, Kristoff was Kristoff, and now Bern had a power in his soul that combined both love and magic.

"Last summer we all watched a dying girl sacrifice her one chance for life to try and stop a sword with her bare hand – that much love and courage will never be ordinary," Bern said.

"It felt ordinary to me," Anna said.

"That says more about how incredible you are than about how ordinary you are," Bern said. "You may not have magic, but your love for Elsa can control magic. Why didn't you freeze the moment Elsa froze your heart in her ice palace, Anna? Elsa doesn't freeze things in slow motion. Yet you survived for most of a day until you froze at exactly the right moment to save Elsa's life from Hans' sword. Your love overpowered the magic long enough to save Elsa. Can you imagine what would have happened if you'd frozen two seconds earlier or one second later?"

"It just happened that way, Bern. I didn't choose it," Anna said.

"You chose to love Elsa. That will be enough."

~###~

"What's Lady Nadja like? I probably met her at some point, but I don't remember," Elsa said.

"She's really nice. She looks a lot like Bern," Kristoff replied, slowing his pace so Elsa could keep up. Olaf was off picking wildflowers and he ran up with a bouquet that he handed to Elsa. Grand Pabbie had tunneled away to the Valley of Living Rock, with the intention of meeting them again in the valley below Bear Rock Point after he'd talked to the other trolls.

"That's not very helpful, Kristoff. I need to defeat her and ten thousand cave trolls. Do you have any other impressions of her?"

Kristoff thought about it. "She only acts nice. I mean, she says the right thing when she wants to, but it's like she hates Bern even though she says she loves him. It was weird – she set him up to take all the blame for what she did to the economy, and then thought he'd want to stay with her after all that."

Elsa sifted through what Kristoff said and couldn't make sense of it. "Did you see any magic? Do you know what she can do?"

"Just that potion she made. Gustav said she freed the Weselton ships from that iceberg you made last month, but I don't know how she did it."

"What do you know about cave trolls?"

"They don't get souls like the rock trolls do because they're selfish. Grand Pabbie makes them leave the Valley of Living Rock," Kristoff said.

Elsa sighed.

"I don't know any of this stuff! I know ice. Do you want me to saw an ice block or set off an avalanche? Oh wait, it's summer and I can't do any of that anyway. Do you have any other questions? I'll try to come up with another way to say 'I don't know' and then you can ask me something else I don't know," Kristoff said.

"Do you want to go skiing?"

"Wait, what?"

Elsa laughed. "I can tell you've been spending a lot of time around Anna."

"Skiing? Seriously? Like with that ice ribbon you make?"

"My feet hurt from all this walking. Let's ski. Olaf! Come hold onto my skirt!"

Olaf scurried over as Elsa surveyed the forest. The undergrowth was patchy and the game trails wound around in twists and turns. It would be a wild ride, but Kristoff liked things like that. She'd learned to ski with someone else when she brought Bern over the mountains, and she had a feeling that Kristoff would pick it up even faster than Bern had. Also, she was getting out of these shoes. Elsa aimed her magic at herself, and the ill-fitting borrowed shoes transformed into her dainty ice slippers, followed by her snow queen dress of snowflakes and glitter. She shifted the train to flow behind her better.

"Whatever you do, don't fall off." Elsa aimed her power at the ground and the ice ribbon unfolded at her feet, doubly wide to accommodate Kristoff. She'd found that she didn't have to consciously think about where it was going – she could trust the ice to find its own path around obstacles. The ice had a wilder sense of fun than Elsa did, and it added in jumps and lifts that caught Elsa by surprise and gave her a sense of accomplishment when she landed a jump without falling.

"Yaa!" Kristoff hollered next to her as the ice ribbon's first jump caught him off guard. He kept his footing though, and crouched lower on the landing, his eyes alight with anticipation for the next one. Olaf whooped when he skidded, then flipped around to ski backwards and added in a few turns. His connection to Elsa's magic gave him more dexterity on an ice ribbon than one would expect from a pudgy snowman with only foot snowballs for maneuvering. The wind lifted Elsa's braid and carried her laugh away behind her as they went zipping down the mountain towards ten thousand creatures that wanted to destroy them.

~###~

"I'm too old for this," Gustav said as he landed on his backside at the bottom of a small incline. The pebbles had given way under his feet and he'd slid down the hill.

Adele reached him and gave him a hand up as Vilrun caught up to them.

"Adele, do you have a method for communicating with the Castle Guards you've kept free besides tracking them down and talking to them?" Vilrun asked.

"They alternate checking in with Charlotte or Edith every two days," Adele said.

"That doesn't arouse suspicion among the Easthaven soldiers?" Vilrun asked.

"They go for pie and tea, then help out with chopping wood or other odd jobs in exchange and claim to be nephews. I understand occasionally the Easthaven soldiers join them. Charlotte really does make a delicious pie crust," Adele said.

"War would be so much more civilized if women ran the world," Gustav observed.

~###~

Kristoff plowed off the end of the ice ribbon and hit the ground shoulder first. Olaf piled into him while Elsa gracefully stepped off the ribbon before the three trolls. He climbed back to his feet and brushed dirt off his tunic while Olaf straightened out his snowballs.

"We have a plan and we need Kristoff's help," Grand Pabbie said.

"You know none of this is my fault," Kristoff said.

"You're right this time," Bulda said, hands on her hips. "We're blaming your new brother. He may think he's a fire crystal, but he can't protect earth fire the way fire crystals can. Humans just don't vaporize into flaming light as easily as a fire crystal."

"Excuse me?" Elsa asked.

"That's why they're called fire crystals, you know," Cliff added.

"We want Kristoff to bring the fire crystal chips from our Valley and spread them in a ring around the cave trolls to trap them where they're gathering. We can't do it ourselves because we can't risk our fire crystals getting involved if we get too close to the cave trolls. They won't be able to cross the barrier and get to your friend." Grand Pabbie frowned. "Why is his name Burn if he can't burst into flame himself?"

"You didn't mention any of this when we were all making plans together," Elsa said.

"I didn't want to alarm him," Grand Pabbie said. "Besides, Bulda's right. Humans don't usually turn into flaming pillars of light."

"Usually?" Elsa echoed.

"Grand Pabbie, this is about as helpful as telling Elsa that fear would be her enemy," Kristoff said.

"I was right about that," Grand Pabbie said.

"Being right and being helpful are not always the same thing," Kristoff pointed out.

Grand Pabbie huffed in indignation.

Elsa plucked at Kristoff's sleeve, her mouth pinched with worry. "Kristoff, I have to stop Lady Nadja. Can you work with the trolls to save Bern's life?"

"I'll do whatever it takes, Elsa," Kristoff promised.

"Anna will help too," Bulda added, and gave Elsa's knee a comforting pat. "She's used to fire crystals now."

"She is?" Elsa asked.

"Elsa, why don't you get going? We don't have much time," Kristoff said, physically pushing Elsa back towards her ice ribbon. He suddenly had a very bad feeling about Anna's engagement ring.

~###~

"You poor dear girl! What a terrifying life you've had, and all because of that silly mistake with a spell so long ago. Come tell me all about it and have some tea," Lady Nadja said, beckoning Elsa closer and gesturing towards a flat rock set for tea, including a table cloth. "And you brought your sweet little snowman! Isn't he the most precious thing ever!"

It was the first time Elsa could recall Olaf being reluctant to give someone a warm hug. After getting away from Lady Nadja, Olaf regarded the Duke of Weselton with suspicion, and the Duke backed up with a nervous laugh, and pretended he hadn't wanted to hug Olaf at all. Olaf had been jittery since they'd seen the pile of mossy cave trolls, rolled up into stones and filling the hollow down the hill from the humans. It unsettled Elsa to see Olaf pensive and uncertain. He was supposed to be the embodiment of her happiness and optimism.

"Olaf, do you want to go see what's in the trees?" Elsa suggested.

Olaf ran off with relief, and Elsa wished he'd turned her down instead.

"I've been dying to meet you! I know my son would only choose a special girl, and I'm so looking forward to being a grandmother. I'm going to spoil all your babies rotten! Here, have some tea."

Elsa took the tea cup from Lady Nadja and seated herself on a rock. Nadja handed another cup to the Duke of Weselton, who also sat down and sipped his tea. It was the fact that the cup was hot in her hand that gave Elsa the first hint that something was wrong. She'd never been able to tell if tea was hot or cold before. She glanced around. There was no sign of a fire that might have been used to boil water for tea.

"Go ahead, take a sip. It's my own special blend, and I want you to tell me whether or not you like it. Do you take sugar?" Nadja said.

"No, thank you," Elsa said, and set the cup down without sipping it. Grand Pabbie had been surprised to find out that Bern could set fires at all. Elsa recalled that Bern had drunk magic too, and this woman was the source of the magic. Bern's fires were the only fires she could feel, the only ones that could burn her, and his mother had those same abilities.

"It's just tea, Elsa. See? Nothing wrong with it?" The Duke of Weselton said with a smile both encouraging and patronizing. He took a sip to demonstrate what she should do.

"You may call me 'your Majesty,'" Elsa replied, even more suspicious now that the Duke said there was nothing wrong with the tea.

"Oh, heavens, girl! We're all family now! We should not stand on ceremony," Nadja said.

"We may be family, but even within a family, trust must be earned and not assumed," Elsa replied.

"You have a suspicious temperament, I see," Nadja observed, sipping her tea.

"She's not very forgiving, either," the Duke added. "She imposed a complete embargo on Weselton, and wouldn't even grant me an audience before she threw me out of the country last summer."

"You presume too much. I have good reason to distrust you, regardless of forgiveness."

Nadja regarded Elsa over the rim of her cup. "Now, now, there's no need to get testy. We have no reason to trust you either, but we're willing to be civil."

"As am I. I demand you leave Arendelle and not return. Take those creatures with you," Elsa said, gesturing to the cave trolls.

Nadja clucked her tongue. "That's not civil at all."

"I could have you arrested for smuggling and corrupting Arendelle's currency," Elsa said.

"There's no need for nasty accusations. You couldn't arrest me without implicating my son, and you wouldn't do that, now would you?" Nadja said.

Elsa didn't answer. She'd come to protect Bern from his mother and the cave trolls, and she was wishing she'd brought Gustav, or anyone who could help her withstand the confusion Nadja's words were creating.

"We only want what's best for our son," the Duke said pompously.

"Then you will leave him in peace," Elsa said.

"If only it was that easy, Elsa. You see, he's been bewitched. I'm sure someone has told you by now that he isn't voluntarily in love with you. Years ago, I fed him a potion to save his life and protect him from fever. I had no idea that it would enslave him to magical cold or I wouldn't have done it. There are some fates worse than death, you know. He doesn't actually love you – he's just fascinated with your magic because heat can't stay away from cold. It isn't healthy for either one of you," Nadja said. "He can't get away from you, Elsa, even if he wanted to. You wouldn't force him to stay with you against his will, would you?"

"Monstrous," the Duke muttered.

"That's not true. He loves me," Elsa said. Her mind was twisting around Nadja's words. She did know there was a connection between her magic and Bern's devotion to her; Bern insisted his love was voluntary, but there was still a part of Elsa that couldn't believe that someone like Bern would choose someone like her if he'd had a real choice.

"He's trapped by you, and it isn't love at all. Love has to be mutual to be true love. Has he told you that? I'm sure he has. It's such a pity your relationship isn't mutual. He's pined after you for years and you wouldn't even look at him. Why would any man put up with that if he had any free will at all? Even now that you're married, I'll guess that he's more interested in you than you are in him," Nadja said. "I won't ask you if you've pushed him away and hurt his feelings, even after the wedding, but you might think about what you're doing to him."

"Any relationship requires some adjustments," Elsa hedged.

"But don't you want to know if he actually loves you or if it's just the magic?" Nadja leaned forward, her gray eyes glittering. "There's a way, you know. Then you could find out for yourself if Bernard truly loves you. And if he doesn't, surely you would want to do the right thing and set him free, wouldn't you? Of course you would!"

A popping sound drew Elsa's attention and she looked down. The tea in her cup was boiling.

"All we have to do is take away your magic. It was a simple spell to begin with, and can easily be undone – I don't know why King Agdar didn't take care of it back in the day," Nadja said with a carefree wave of her hand. "If Bern loves you, then he'll still love you without the magic. And if he doesn't, then it's better to know now rather than later."

Elsa sat silent.

"Isn't that what you've always wanted?" Nadja asked.

The Duke cleared his throat. "I have been authorized by the Coalition of Shoreline Kingdoms to tell you that if you agree to have your magic removed, I will convey that information to Prince Dominic and the Princes of the Southern Isles, and they will all withdraw from Arendelle. Their only objection to you is your magic. Once it's gone, then we'll all leave peacefully."

"There! You see? We do want what's best for you. No more magic, a genuine relationship with your husband and a peaceful kingdom. All your fondest desires!" Nadja said.

"How would you take away my magic?" Elsa asked, glancing between them. Nadja reminded her of a cat waiting at a mouse hole, and the Duke had an encouraging smile pasted on his face under that curtain of a mustache. The effect was rather disturbing.

"Pick up your cup, Elsa," Nadja said.

"I'd rather not have any tea," Elsa said.

The Duke leaned over and picked up her cup just as the stone table heaved, throwing off the tablecloth and unrolling into a little stone person who dropped the slab he'd been balancing. Elsa recoiled. The cave troll was smaller than a rock troll, and the human eyes that were so friendly and humorous in the rock trolls' faces were squinted and vacant. They didn't have souls, Elsa knew, and the emptiness looked out of his eyes. He held a stone bottle with a stopper, and a stone basin waited on the ground next to him.

"This is Raghast," Nadja said. "He was there when you had that unfortunate accident with the spell."

Raghast worked the stopper out of the bottle and poured water into the stone basin. "This is the spell snow. We worked the incantation on it, and you put your hands into it instead of letting your father do it."

"My hands hurt. I thought the cold would ease the pain," Elsa said, not intending to say anything at all, but stung by the accusation in Raghast's tone that she'd taken the spell on purpose.

"Pain isn't the worst thing in the world, girl, but you know that by now," Raghast said.

"When the spell snow melted, it unlocked the possibility of undoing the magic entirely," Nadja said. "It's ridiculously easy. I'll pour this little bit into your tea cup, then you bathe your hands and feet in the rest of the water and drink the tea. That's all there is to it, and you can have a future as normal as anyone else, just like you've always wanted."

It was Nadja's promise of the future that flipped Elsa's thoughts back to the North Mountain, and her encounter with God. He'd promised her a future too. He'd also told her to not try and get rid of her magic, and specifically warned her against asking the cave trolls for help. But she wasn't really asking them, she rationalized, this creature had offered.

"How do you know it will work?" Elsa asked.

Nadja smiled and waved her hand in a carefree gesture. "I've studied such things, only with a view to help people, of course. But the cave trolls and I know it will work."

There it was. Everything Elsa had ever wanted sat within her reach and waited for her to take it. They offered something not even God had promised – to undo it, to fix it, to set things to rights the way they should have been if the mistake had never happened.

_It wasn't a mistake_, something whispered.

All those lost years. How could it be anything but a mistake?

Her thoughts were drawn back to the terrible moment on Dominic's ship when he'd demanded that she freeze Lingarth's navy, and her refusal. If King Agdar had been on that ship with ice in his hands and heart, he would have been leading the battle, freezing all who opposed him. Instead, the power lay safely in the hands of a queen who would never voluntarily harm anyone with it. She had this power so her father would not. God hadn't been able to unmake King Agdar's choice to consort with black magic, but he'd redirected it. God trusted her to do the right thing, Elsa realized. This power wasn't a curse, it was a sacred charge. She'd saved Arendelle by taking the spell – she'd saved the entire world.

A welter of images poured through Elsa's memory: a series of Olaf's warm hugs and unquenchable cheer; Anna on the North Mountain, pleading to be sisters again; Anna on the fjord, saving her from Hans; the look in Bern's eyes when she said she loved him; Kristoff, in every mood from heroic to obnoxious; the stubborn paternal loyalty of Rodmund and Gustav; Gerda's kindness throughout her childhood; the citizens of Arendelle, shouting 'hurrah' for the Snow Queen. She would have none of those memories without her magic. The pain of it all had been taken by God on the North Mountain, and all she had left was the strength won in the struggle.

Now that her magic was a choice, she knew which choice she would make. "No thank you. I prefer to keep my magic," Elsa replied.

"Excuse me?" Nadja said.

"I don't want to undo the spell."

Nadja started to speak, stopped, exchanged a glance with the Duke and then scowled at Raghast. Behind them, there was a rumble from the mass of cave trolls.

"If you love Bern, you have to do this to test his love for you," Nadja pressed.

"I know he loves me. I don't have to test that anymore," Elsa said.

"You foolish girl! You can't have him!" Nadja shouted.

"Give back the spell!" Raghast demanded, thrusting the basin towards her. "The earth fire didn't come until the snow was mixed with your blood. Give back the spell or we'll take the earth fire from him directly!"

"No you won't!" Nadja said to Raghast.

The rumble from the mass of rocks increased and several of them unrolled into cave trolls.

"Where is he?"

"You promised if we found her, he'd be with her!"

"You lied to us, Raghast!"

"Where's the earth fire?"

"Take the spell from her!"

Elsa backed away from them, thinking that this would be a good time for Kristoff and Grand Pabbie to arrive with the fire crystal chips that would stop the cave trolls. She threw down a low wall of ice, higher than the cave trolls' heads. They rolled it over like it was made of paper.

"We created that spell – you can't stop us with it."

"Do it like this, human," another troll said, and threw something at her.

Elsa barely had time to make a shield of ice that stopped the rain of ice spikes that came at her. The next volley was even more intense. Elsa went stumbling backwards under their attack. She couldn't think and see fast enough to counter what they were throwing at her, so she let the magic take over. Like when the shield of ice had stopped the arrow at her palace on the North Mountain, the ice simply appeared where she needed it.

"Leave Elsa alone!" Olaf shouted, charging out of the trees. He brandished a rock in one twig hand.

"Olaf, go back!" Elsa called out.

The rain of ice spikes stopped as the cave trolls turned to watch Olaf.

"What is it?"

"The snow spell can't do that."

"She made the snowman."

"It's trying to protect her. It loves her!"

"It has a soul! How did it get a soul?"

"She shared her soul with it! We can get it!"

"Elsa, what's going on?" Olaf whispered loudly out of the side of his mouth.

"Olaf, I think you need to get out of here as fast as you can," Elsa replied.

"I am not leaving without you, Elsa!" Olaf declared. He threw his rock at the cave trolls and took Elsa's skirt in his twig hand.

The cave trolls scattered out of the way of Olaf's rock, no more than a pebble, and then gathered around to examine it when it hit the ground.

"It meant to defend her using this."

"Did some soul get on it?"

"Bring it here."

Elsa and Olaf watched several of the cave trolls scratch a pentagram into the dirt while more of them fought over Olaf's rock.

"They're crazy," Olaf observed out of the side of his mouth.

"Let's go, Olaf," Elsa said. She threw down the ice ribbon, intending to find Kristoff and help him with the fire crystals while the cave trolls were distracted.

The ice ribbon broke under her feet and she splashed down onto the wet grass where it had melted.

"Going somewhere?" Lady Nadja asked. The air around her hands shimmered with waves of heat.


	29. Chapter 29 - Magic and Miracles

**Chapter 29 – Magic and Miracles**

"What do you mean you're not coming with me?" Kristoff said, piling double handfuls of rubies and sapphires into canvas bags.

"Our fire crystals won't tolerate the presence of the cave trolls," Grand Pabbie said.

"You were right there with them, Grand Pabbie. You're the one that came and told us the cave trolls were after Bern," Kristoff said.

"I stayed underground, Kristoff. Believe me when I tell you I want to help, we all want to help, but if the earth senses the cave trolls are threatening our fire crystals, the results will be cataclysmic. You've got to stop them, Kristoff. The earth will step in to defend your friend's soul if she has to, and the earth never has paid much attention to how many humans die when she gets angry," Grand Pabbie said with a shake of his head.

"But it's Bern! He's human! The earth wants to save his life, right?"

"The earth wants to save his soul; life is optional," Grand Pabbie said.

Kristoff shook his head, tied off the bag and started dumping diamonds into another bag.

"I'm coming with him!" Trixie announced. "I don't have a fire crystal yet."

"I'm coming too," Vixie said, not to be outdone.

Rhone, Stone and Nixie all insisted they were coming too.

"Have the little trolls carve a ditch around the cave trolls and fill it with fire crystals. They won't be able to cross the line," Grand Pabbie said.

"Let's go kids," Kristoff said, strapping the canvas bags onto Sven. The young trolls rolled up into rocks and barreled along beside them as Sven galloped away, Kristoff on his back.

~###~

"There's a way to stop the cave trolls from getting near Bern. Come with me – help us save Bern. You know they'll kill him," Elsa said to Nadja.

"I can save him without your help," Nadja said. "I gave him life, and I saved his life. Without me and my magic, he would have died like his brothers and sisters. He owes me everything."

Elsa stepped backwards to keep the distance between them as Nadja approached, her hands still shimmering like the air around a fire. "Life is a gift from a mother to a child. You don't own him just because he owes you his life. You claim I've enslaved him, but what do you think you're trying to do?"

"I'm trying to rescue him," Nadja said. "Just give back the spell, Elsa, and if he wants to stay with you without your magic, I'll leave him in peace."

Elsa had proof that she didn't control Bern. "He was ready to leave me, in spite of the magic. If I really had enslaved him, he would never have refused me when I asked him to do something dishonorable. Instead, he told me 'no' and intended to leave Arendelle," Elsa said, still backing away and keeping herself between Olaf and Nadja. "Bern makes his own choices and lives by his own standards. That's as much free will as any of us have."

"He would never have chosen to leave me if you hadn't bewitched him!" Nadja cried out, and threw a ball of fire at Elsa.

Elsa's magic reacted with a shield. The fireball melted through it, but not before the ice extinguished it. Bern couldn't do that – Nadja's magic was much more powerful than Bern's, and not bounded by love. Elsa raised her hands and gathered her control. Nadja attacked again, and a third time, each fireball fizzling out against a shield of ice.

"He chose to leave you because of the way you treated him," Elsa said.

Nadja's gray eyes grew furious with fear and her chin trembled. "It was your magic that dragged him away from me!"

"He would have loved you too if you'd ever treated him with kindness and respect," Elsa said.

"I did everything for him!" Nadja cried out.

"He didn't want everything. He just wanted you to accept him for who he was."

"He needed my help! He's not very smart, and he's timid at all the wrong times. His judgment is bad, and he's selfish and headstrong, not to mention over-sensitive. I only ever meant to help him! If he'd only let me fix him, we could have been happy, and instead he ran off and found you."

"I don't want to fix him. I want him exactly the way he is," Elsa said.

Nadja's next blast of fire was aimed at Olaf, and Elsa created a pillar of ice in front of Olaf that stopped the flame. Nadja threw a series of fireballs towards Elsa that she parried with ice shields, keeping Olaf behind her, and then Olaf stumbled and Nadja's next attack aimed for Olaf. Olaf was suddenly encased in walls of ice, and Elsa knew she hadn't done it.

"We'll take the snowman instead of your son," Raghast said to Nadja. The cave trolls were done examining the rock Olaf had thrown at them. The mass of them climbed the hill behind Raghast, and a dozen went to peer at Olaf behind the frozen walls.

Nadja relaxed. "Well, that sounds reasonable."

"You will not have Olaf!" Elsa said.

"He belongs to us as much as you," Raghast said with a shrug.

"He belongs to himself," Elsa said, and sent a wave of blue sparkles to shimmer against Olaf's prison and free him. Olaf scurried over to hold Elsa's skirt again, hiding under the snowflake train of her ice queen dress.

"What was that?"

"How did she do that?"

Other cave trolls clutched at the air where the ice walls had disappeared.

"You can't thaw your own spell?" Elsa asked. She glanced at her hands. The blue sparkles appeared for the first time in her life after she'd accepted Anna's love. Love had entwined with her magic, and this spell had gone beyond anything the cave trolls could do.

Elsa sprayed out a plume of ice that turned to a wall around the trolls, and then just as quickly sent blue sparkles to chase it away. The cave trolls turned themselves in circles, watching the ice appear and disappear. Their will to fight evaporated at this proof that Elsa was more powerful. Courage was connected to the ability to love, and the cave trolls lacked both.

"Never mind about her!"

"Strange magic!"

"Find the human with the earth fire instead!"

"Get away!"

As a mass, the pile of cave trolls started to turn and rumble.

"Stop!" Elsa cried out, wondering where Kristoff was.

The cave trolls paid no attention, and with a scrape of rock and shrieks of disappointment, the entire horde started downhill, towards the village and the shore.

"We have to stop them, Elsa!" Olaf hollered, and scurried off as fast as he could go on his foot snowballs, which wasn't very fast at all.

"Nadja! Help me stop them! They're after Bern!" Elsa called, skiing up over their heads to build a wall of ice in front of them. They crashed through it like paper.

Elsa's ice ribbon melted again, and she tumbled to the grass. Beside them, the hollow of the hill emptied itself of cave trolls and the ground trembled beneath them as the weight of trolls went thundering down the mountain towards Arendelle. There was a fleck of movement at the tree line above them, and Elsa saw Kristoff and Sven hurtling down the mountainside. He didn't even look in her direction, but went tearing off after the cave trolls as fast as Sven could go.

"You won't be the one to save him," Nadja said in a calm, measured tone. Somehow that was more menacing than if she'd shouted.

"It will be too late by the time either one of us get there if we don't go now," Elsa said, glancing from the disappearing cave trolls back to Nadja. Olaf stopped a few yards down the hill.

"Then perhaps he'll regret his choice before the end," Nadja said.

"You'd let him die if you can't have what you want?"

Nadja responded by aiming a stream of fire at Elsa. Elsa threw up a shield, and backed it up with a steady stream of her own magic that rebuilt it as soon as it melted as Nadja's fire threatened to break through. The air around Elsa grew hot with the threat, and Elsa's concentration faltered as fear crept in. She'd been so confident when she'd sent herself to deal with the cave trolls and her mother-in-law. She hadn't expected to be evenly matched. Outmatched, really, because Elsa had set a boundary on her own behavior and Nadja hadn't. Nadja changed tactics from the stream of fire to a series of fireballs thrown at random, which Elsa's magic countered without conscious thought from Elsa.

Bern's words echoed in her head: _There are some lines the good guys cannot cross and remain the good guys_. Elsa knew she couldn't hurt Bern's mother, not even in self-defense. She also knew Nadja had no such limits. She staved off the decision she knew she was making for a few more seconds.

_Bern, I'm sorry. You'll never know the real reason I quit fighting is because I was trying to live up to your example_. And Elsa dropped her hands, turned away from Nadja and closed her eyes. All her fear dropped away as she gave up what she wanted most and surrendered.

To her surprise, Nadja stopped too. "What are you doing?"

"I won't fight you; I won't risk hurting you," Elsa said.

Nadja scowled, hatred gathering like thunderclouds in those gray eyes that looked so much like Bern's, and yet were completely different. "You want me to be the bad guy? Fine, I'll be the bad guy."

Elsa smiled to herself. She'd won the fight that mattered most. She was good, and she would stay good, no matter what anyone else did. She matched Bern after all.

Nadja gathered her power, and in that split-second, Olaf charged towards them, shouting, "I'll save you Elsa!"

"Olaf, go back!" Elsa shouted.

But it was too late. Nadja threw that blast of fire and hatred right at Olaf, Elsa already running toward him to share in his fate. Olaf was part of her soul. She'd fretted at times that Olaf wouldn't survive her death, but now she wondered how she'd ever thought she could survive his.

Elsa raised her hand, but not to attack Nadja or even defend herself. She focused the cold, and it drew Nadja's flame, burning her hand as she saved Olaf. Elsa steeled herself against the pain, and kept drawing the heat out of Nadja, and now it was Nadja who couldn't break away, the fire spell pouring out of her towards Elsa and the ice spell that had mingled with her soul and drew on the power of love.

"No!" Nadja screamed, clawing at the flame that fled through her fingers to get to Elsa.

Elsa fell to the ground, weeping against the pain, her hand still outstretched to pull all the threat out of Nadja for the sake of both of their sons. Nadja's flame came to an end. Magic was finite; love was infinite.

Olaf climbed into her lap and reached up towards her flaming hand.

"No, Olaf, you'll melt," Elsa said.

"Some people are worth melting for," Olaf replied.

Olaf took Elsa's burned hand and pressed it against his middle snowball, where his heart would have been if he'd had a heart. He closed his eyes as his snowball started to steam and melt, drawing out the pain and heat of Elsa's sacrifice on his behalf.

"There," he said at last. "There's no more heat in your hand."

Elsa lifted her hand away from him. The imprint of her hand remained in his snowball, melted into his form.

"Let me fix that, Olaf," Elsa said.

"I like it the way it is," Olaf replied, and gave Elsa a warm hug.

"How dare you steal my magic?" Nadja screamed. In a frenzy of hatred, she seized a branch and came at them.

"That's quite enough for one day, my dear."

Elsa had forgotten the Duke of Weselton was even here, but there he was, holding onto the branch with both hands.

"What do you think you're doing?" Nadja demanded.

"Re-evaluating my definition of monsters. Leave her alone," the Duke said.

Elsa stayed on the ground, Olaf on her lap.

Nadja looked from them to the Duke, who looked neither timid nor pompous for once, only determined. She threw down the branch and stormed away from them.

The Duke cleared his throat and bowed to Elsa. Elsa was not even tempted to giggle when his hair flipped over. "Weselton will withdraw from Arendelle, with my apologies." And then he followed his wife. Elsa heard the jingle of horse harnesses and a whinny as they mounted horses and rode away, leaving them alone.

"I love true love!" Olaf declared.

"Me too, Olaf, and now we've got to get to Arendelle Village as fast as we can. Let's go." Elsa aimed her power at her feet and the ice ribbon unfolded before them.

~###~

"Dominic owes me a duel," Bern said to the Easthaven soldiers who barred their way into Arendelle Village. He watched, bemused, as messengers dashed back and forth a few times before a lieutenant told Bern to dismount and follow him. Anna dismounted and came with him; the soldiers glanced at her and then whispers and suspicions started. Men of this low rank would not recognize her on sight, especially dressed as she was like a peasant girl, in company with a man very few of them recognized as Queen Elsa's husband. Still, Bern drew her hand through his arm to keep her close as corporals fetched lieutenants who went to find captains. Anna ducked her head against his shoulder at the scrutiny and then straightened up with a deep breath.

Now that his course was set, the earth fire in his soul was beginning to surge. He'd worried the earth fire would flare too late, but it was already starting to respond to the threat to Elsa represented by the hundreds of men around them. The heat of it was pulling through his consciousness, actively searching out his knowledge of humanity and twining it into its own connection with the earth. Thoughts came into his head, burned clearly, and then were added upon in a process like having an invigorating conversation within a few seconds. The earth fire was now sifting through his knowledge of economics, supply and demand, logistics, what humans needed to live and to fight.

Dominic had set up headquarters in a canvas pavilion erected in the south meadow. There were more than a thousand soldiers from Easthaven and Weselton scattered throughout Arendelle Village. Bern's eyesight was better at a distance, and he could see twelve warships riding at anchor in the harbor. He stared at the flags until he was sure he was seeing flags from three different countries. Someone addressed a comment to Prince Obadiah within Bern's hearing, and he realized the Southern Isles were here as well. The meadow was awash with uniformed men, the smell of cooking fires, and the occasional shouted order.

To Bern, the show of military force seemed superfluous. For all practical purposes, Arendelle was already conquered, its government either imprisoned or in hiding. _The weapons_. Surrounded by a forest of swords, crossbows and spears, the earth fire dipped into Bern's knowledge of weaponry and added to it the earth's connection with the ore and metals the humans had taken from underground only a moment ago by earth's reckoning. The steel remembered its origins, deep under the earth, molded around and through the rocks, lending its strength to the foundation of all creation. The earth fire began to flare, reaching out towards the ore and metal, reforging the connection broken when the humans had mined it, sending out whispers of Elsa drawn from Bern.

As the power began to surge, Bern focused his own thoughts on Anna, letting the earth fire explore his own memories of how true love had given Anna perfect timing, how important time was to humans. The surge subsided to wait.

"I've come in Elsa's place," Bern said, when Dominic finally condescended to speak with him. All his focus was consumed by containing the power within him, leaving him no capacity to worry about Dominic's jeering disdain for him.

"So we can use you as a hostage to force her surrender? That worked last time. If Elsa doesn't come, we start throwing castle staff into the harbor. Or are you here because she wants you thrown in first? Tired of you, is she?" He laughed loudly and then his flow of threats broke off as his gaze went to Anna. "Is that Anna? Did you really bring her with you? Once you're dead, we've still got a hostage to use against the queen. Your cowardice is surpassed only by your stupidity."

"You owe me a duel," Bern said, keeping his gaze steady though he could see only Dominic's blurred outline.

Dominic laughed again.

"Go ahead, Dominic, it could be entertaining," Prince Nels of the Southern Isles said.

"It would be more of a challenge to duel Anna," Dominic said.

"Hans tried that," Anna replied. "You wouldn't even need to give me a sword."

There was a brief and angry silence and then shouts broke out among the Princes of the Southern Isles. Prince Obadiah advanced on Anna until Dominic put his own sword up to stop his progress and told him to get back.

"If you would like to withdraw your challenge and apologize, that would also satisfy the forms of honor if you prefer not to fight me," Bern said.

"And let you off that easily? You stole my bride, Councilor," Dominic said, and drew his sword.

Bern drew his own sword. Around them, men drew back to give them a clear space to fight, Anna with them. Bern's sword blade hummed with excitement. In the center of the ring of spectators, Bern swung first. Dominic parried it easily, struck back, and Bern's sword flew out of his hand as he staggered back.

_Now!_

Dominic shouted in pain as Bern's soul flared.

~###~

Anna stepped back from the duel and found herself between Prince Nels and Prince Obadiah. They crossed their sword blades in front of her and Nels grabbed her tightly around her upper arm. She didn't spare him a glance, her gaze fixed on Bern and Dominic. Her thoughts from last summer when she was dying on the ice came clearly, the clarity of giving up her own hopes in a blaze of love for someone else. Elsa's life and happiness were uppermost in her mind when Bern swung his sword and was disarmed in almost the same instant. The chime of fire crystals hovered in the air and touched down in her heart.

Dominic raised his sword over Bern. The air around him caught fire and sent out a shimmer of heat so vast that it engulfed the entire village with a flare like lightning and a thunderclap. Dominic was the first one to drop his sword and shout, clutching his wrist even as blisters appeared on the palm of his hand. All throughout the ring of soldiers around them, men dropped their swords with shouts of surprised pain as if they'd become snakes. Some of the soldiers plunged their burned hands into water barrels. A confused babble of voices rose from the crowd.

"Witchcraft!" Prince Henry shouted.

"Your swords aren't frozen," Bern said.

Dominic didn't say anything for several seconds, staring at Bern and then looking around at the soldiers around them, none of whom had a weapon anymore. The air around Bern still shimmered with heat.

"You won the duel, Dominic. Everyone here saw you disarm me," Bern said.

"What spell is this?" Dominic demanded.

"Not a spell at all. You came here with a witch who studies heat and flame. Could she do this? This isn't witchcraft, Dominic, and you know it," Bern said. "You will never be able to wield a weapon in Arendelle again." He raised his voice to carry among the crowd. "No one who crosses into Arendelle's borders with evil intentions will ever be able to hold a weapon."

Dominic reached for his sword, picked it up, then released it with a jerk and a curse, shaking his burned hand. Anna saw a soldier unstrap a quiver of arrows and drop it to the ground, the metal of the arrowheads running like quicksilver off the shafts. Spears and bayonets were thrown down and soldiers backed away.

Bern picked up Dominic's sword and Dominic took a step back, along with the rest of the disarmed men in the clearing. Anna smothered a smile to see Bern's surprise – he really hadn't expected anyone to think he was dangerous, even if he was the only man who could hold a weapon right now. Bern held the blade flat over his palms. In his hands, the metal started to glow red as it softened with heat. Bern twisted the sword into a loop and dropped it at Dominic's feet.

"What are you?" Prince Hector demanded.

"Elsa's husband," Bern said. "And I won't allow you to threaten her."

"You've no such protection," Prince Nels hissed at Anna. "We can still force the queen to do our bidding." His hand on her arm squeezed hard, though he'd dropped his sword with the rest of them.

Anna barely paid attention, curious about the way the light around her was getting brighter even as the chime of fire crystals thrummed louder. Then the light flashed and Prince Nels yelped, putting up a hand to shield his eyes. Anna stared at her engagement ring. The light in it flowed back inside, so instead of flaring outward, the light illuminated the diamond inwards, and by some trick of the light the inner crystal swirled larger and larger, a microcosm of the earth contained on her hand, its physical size disconnected from the power it held.

The ground rumbled under their feet. Shouts of surprise filled the air as the rumble grew louder and the earth began to tremble. From up on the mountainside came a crashing and crunching as trees fell under a rockslide and were crushed to splinters, spraying wood and dirt into the air. The rocks poured down the mountainside towards the village and meadow, sending people into panicked flight, punctuated by screams.

The light in Anna's diamond poured outward, brighter than the sun, making even Bern put up a hand and turn away from its brilliance. The power in it pulled towards the rockslide. She raised it until the light bathed the oncoming horde of rocks, sending them into a grinding attempt to change direction and flee from her. It wasn't a rockslide at all, she realized. "I can stop them!" Anna cried out and broke away from the Princes to run towards the onslaught of cave trolls.

Kristoff's yell floated down from the mountain, above the mass of cave trolls. As the trolls slowed and changed direction, Sven's gallop overtook them, running parallel to them down the mountainside as Kristoff flung handfuls of a substance that caught fire in mid-air and flared out more of the blinding rays of light that turned the cave trolls further from the village and humanity below. A few rock trolls tumbled along by his feet.

All was chaos, screaming and panic as people fled the rockslide, running towards the village or the harbor. Anna's ring flared again, creating a barrier of light between the cave trolls and the people of Arendelle. A deeper earthquake took hold, not just the rumble of rocks on the surface, but the deep movement of bedrock. Trees fell and buildings collapsed. The humans lost their footing as a cleft opened up in the earth and the inhuman screams of trolls floated back out of the crevasse as the first of their ranks fell in. Their attempt to halt was borne down under the weight of the masses in the back who were still running and rolling at full speed before Kristoff's attack from behind. He was running on foot now, Sven having thrown him off in the earthquake and now running beside him. Instead of slowing, the cave trolls came faster and faster, pitching off the edge into the chasm.

"Kristoff! Stop!" Anna screamed. He couldn't see the chasm. Her voice didn't carry over the noise of the rocks.

Anna went running towards the chasm, the light from her ring driving the cave trolls mad as the last of them went over the edge with a peculiar grinding scream. Then the earthquake returned, knocking both Anna and Kristoff to their hands and knees as the earth swallowed up the cave trolls and closed the crevasse. When the earth settled, they were only yards apart, facing each other over the scar in the surface.

Anna stared at him in shock and amazement, then down at the ring on her hand. The light had subsided down to nothing brighter than a hundred fires.

"I didn't actually get your ring from France, Anna," Kristoff said.

"You don't say," Anna replied.

"The harbor! Look at the water!"

At the startled cries around them, Anna turned around. The harbor was emptying, the water drawing back and away so quickly that it left the warships and rowboats beached on the sand and fish flopping on what used to be the bottom of the sea. People were climbing to their feet, some went to investigate fallen buildings, while others came running to find the water. Kristoff gave Anna a hand up and they watched the crowd pour down towards the harbor.

"Where's Bern?" Kristoff asked.

"I left him there," Anna said, pointing to the collapsed pavilion which was being overrun with panicked humanity.

"Come on," Kristoff said, starting to run. "If we save Arendelle and lose Bern, Elsa's going to freeze our heads off."

They ran towards the village, slowing to pick their way past the rubble of a row of townhouses that had collapsed in the earthquake and being careful not to step on the swords that littered the streets. Other townhouses were still standing. Everywhere, the bricks had heaved out of place in the streets and trees leaned askew. The causeway had partially collapsed – the center portion stood alone in the mud of the exposed harbor bottom, but the connecting section from the marketplace had fallen over almost intact. The section between the center portion and the castle had shaken apart and lay scattered across the bottom of the harbor. The castle was still standing.

"We could walk across," Anna said. "The water's gone."

"I'd want to find out where the water is before I try that," Kristoff said.

Screams began again, then people were running away from the harbor, towards the mountain, and there was a roar in the air so deep that it vibrated in Anna's earbones. She turned, hands over her ears, and stood rooted to the spot in horror as a wall of water, twice the height of the castle, came rushing into the harbor, picking up the warships as it came, poised to throw the entire harbor and all of its contents at the traumatized population of Arendelle.

There was a shimmer, a flicker, and then the airborne drops of water pattered down around them like hail. All was completely still, the harbor frozen in place in that massive wave. Anna found herself looking at the underside of a warship, so close she could count the barnacles, until Kristoff grabbed her hand and yanked her back and away as the weight of the exposed half of the warship sheared the ship apart and it crashed down to the earth, leaving its back half frozen into the wave, a stunned sailor looking out from below decks.

Anna was still trying to stare at the frozen wave as Kristoff pulled her back into the village towards a shouting tangle of royalty.

"Kristoff! Find some of the Castle Guards! Dominic has agreed to surrender," Bern said when Kristoff shouted out an offer of assistance and broke past a few Princes of the Southern Isles.

"I will hear his surrender," Elsa announced, skiing in over the tops of the buildings and spiraling down into the village in a spray of sparkles and ice. The gossamer train of her ice queen gown settled around her amid the scene of general devastation that framed her entrance as she stepped off the ice ribbon, Olaf tumbling after her. "And then he can thank me for saving his miserable life."

"On your knees before Queen Elsa, Dominic," Bern said.

With a nudge from Bern, Dominic went down on his knees, and with a further glare from Kristoff, the Princes of the Southern Isles joined him.

Dominic babbled out a promise to surrender and never fight again, which the Princes from the Southern Isles echoed.

"I accept your surrender," Elsa said.

Ladies Charlotte and Edith were approaching, with a dozen Castle Guards dressed like villagers. Vilrun was with them.

"Vilrun, you will escort Dominic to the castle, where he will order his soldiers to free everyone in the castle. You will then find rooms that will serve as a dungeon and confine these men," Elsa said.

"Yes, your Majesty," Vilrun said.

Elsa aimed her power at her feet, and the ice ribbon unfolded, spiraling upward over the heads of the gathering crowd. She held out her hand, and ice flowed from it, rebuilding the causeway. Under Vilrun's direction, the Castle Guards prodded their royal prisoners to their feet and herded them towards the icy causeway as Elsa skied back down to earth, right into Bern's arms.


	30. Chapter 30 - Rebuilding

**Chapter 30 – Rebuilding**

"It's not that, I just don't think we ought to thaw it out too quickly," Kristoff said. "It might take us a couple of days to find out how it's anchored to the sea floor, and the best way to thaw it without flooding the coastline."

"It's looming over the shoreline of five kingdoms," Elsa replied.

"At least a day, your Majesty. We really do need to survey it," Lito said. He was one of the four ice harvesters who had gotten into the castle a few days earlier. He and Roark had come with Kristoff to talk to Elsa about the frozen tidal wave that dominated the skyline. Two more ice harvesters, Bagley and Duff, were approaching quickly, ropes coiled over their shoulders and spikes dangling from straps.

Elsa studied their equipment and then turned back to Kristoff. "I assume you'd need to climb the wave in order to make this survey."

"Oh, definitely. We can't see enough from down here," Kristoff agreed.

"In fact, you might need to climb it several times, since you would have to come back down to talk to stonemasons, carpenters and other building experts about the best way to thaw the wave without causing more damage," Elsa observed.

"Exactly! We want to do this right. It's not like anyone has experience with one of these things just freezing like that," Kristoff said.

"I'm sure the rest of the ice harvesters are on their way, since this wave is visible for miles up the mountain. You might need to wait for them and get their opinions too. Am I right?" Elsa said.

Kristoff was enthusiastically agreeing when Roark nudged him. "She's on to you, man."

"What?" Kristoff asked innocently.

"You just want to climb it," Elsa said.

Kristoff shrugged. "Well, yeah."

"Go, gentlemen," Elsa said, making shooing motions with her hands.

With a whoop of excitement, Kristoff dashed off with Lito. Roark, Bagley and Duff tried to display more restraint and paused to thank her before they took off after Kristoff.

~###~

"If my own will had been involved, I would much rather have done something impressive, like win the duel first," Bern explained.

Rodmund kept pulling on his tie, as if it was tied too tightly.

"In hindsight, my complete defeat may provide some assurance to neighboring countries that my temperament is no more warlike than Elsa's, and that neither one of us will use our abilities to conquer anyone," Bern said.

That sent Rodmund into a fit of coughing.

"The trolls have never seen anything like this before, but it seems not to be anything we need to worry about," Bern continued, feeling compelled to keep talking until Rodmund could produce words. Bern had explained everything that had happened since his wedding to Rodmund without any response from Rodmund at all, which made Bern nervous since he couldn't even see Rodmund's expression.

"Rodmund, do sit down before you fall over," Elsa said as she approached. She laid a hand on Bern's arm.

Rodmund found a barrel to sit on as a crew of stonemasons passed them. They were in the village. None of the staff or Council who had spent the month imprisoned in the castle wanted to return across the ice causeway, and the stonemasons insisted it wasn't safe yet anyway.

"Vilrun tells me that none of the foreign soldiers can pick up a sword without getting burned, and the tips on the arrows and spears have all melted to dullness," Elsa said. "Our Castle Guards are able to handle them, however, so they're piling up weapons in the castle armory. Captain Torvin is positively salivating over them."

"The spoils of war," Bern observed.

"We'll let Captain Torvin pick out the ones that didn't warp with the heat, and the damaged blades can be forged into plows and pruning hooks to make up the shortfall in imported metals we've experienced this summer. What do you think, Rodmund?"

"Very good, your Majesty," Rodmund managed to say.

"What have you done to him?" Elsa asked Bern suspiciously.

"I've just been telling him about our summer," Bern said. "And about me."

At that, Elsa laid her head on his shoulder and sighed happily. Bern put an arm around her, thinking that Elsa needed more than just his ability to build a fire that could warm her. Elsa needed to not be the only one in Arendelle with unusual powers.

"Your father would be proud of you, Bern," Rodmund said.

"You mean shocked and astounded," Bern corrected him. "I know he never approved of Mother's witchcraft, and he would never have guessed the effect it would have on me."

"Bern, I'll hazard a guess that no one has ever told you that your name was originally Reginald," Rodmund said. "Or that was what Tyvard and Nadja intended to name you up until the morning of your christening. I was there, you know."

"No, I didn't know," Bern said.

"I gather you had a grandfather named Reginald." He shrugged. "Tyvard arrived at your christening and spoke to the pastor. It seems he'd had a dream about fire in your soul. He went on about it at some length; I don't recall the details. He wanted to christen you Burn; he was quite convinced of the idea. Your mother would have nothing to do with it, and the pastor wasn't very impressed with the idea either. It isn't a Christian name, or even a family name. The fuss delayed your christening for more than an hour, and in the end, your mother told everyone you were being named after an uncle instead of a grandfather. Do you have an uncle named Bernard?"

"I've been told I do, but now that I think of it, I've never met an uncle by that name," Bern said.

"Hmm, well, I don't recall exactly what the pastor said when he christened you," Rodmund said.

"I believe Father wrote 'Burn' in the family Bible," Bern said. "Kristoff saw it."

"Appropriate place, I suppose. It was a one-word prophecy, and it's fitting that it was written down in a Bible," Rodmund said.

~###~

Cliff tugged on Gustav's trousers to get his attention. Gustav was deep in conversation with several bricklayers about the damaged streets. With the paving bricks all askew, wagons and carts couldn't even get through Arendelle Village to start clearing the debris from the collapsed buildings. Gustav looked down at the troll, whose habitual smile was replaced with a look of concern.

"What happened to your ground?" Cliff asked.

"The earthquake," Gustav said.

Cliff beckoned Gustav to come closer and he crouched down to be eye level with the troll. "We're sorry about the earthquake. In a way, it was our fault, not Kristoff's. It seems like we blame him for a lot of things, and Bulda and I don't think that's fair. Would it help your streets if we went underneath these bricks and smoothed things out?"

Gustav relayed Cliff's offer to the bricklayers, then added, "I can assure you that these creatures are perfectly civilized. Once you get past the first surprise of meeting them, you will find that they are as intelligent as humans."

Cliff snorted. "Weren't you around for that conversation? We're more intelligent than you humans."

"Yes, thank you, just a diplomatic turn of phrase," Gustav said.

"If they can smooth out the road beds, that would help," the bricklayer managed to say.

Cliff didn't even wait for Gustav to relay the comment. He called to Ghiff, Biff, Mulda and Sulda and they rolled to the edge of the village, where they could get underground, and burrowed down with a spray of dirt. Within minutes, the topsy-turvy streets of Arendelle began to smooth out. Gustav stomped on a brick and it dropped back into place. The bricklayers followed suit, and soon dozens of people were flattening the streets back into place.

A couple of hours later, Cliff found Gustav again. "Did that help?"

"Very much. Thank you, that would have taken weeks to repair the streets without your help," Gustav said.

"Do you want us to go talk to the rocks in your foundations? I've met some of the stones in your castle, even if they did get quarried three hundred years ago. We could ask them to straighten out and stack up again," Cliff said.

Gustav's eyebrows climbed to his hairline. "Do you mean to say that we have trolls in our foundations?"

Cliff shrugged. "Not like us. Some rocks don't wake up all the way, but that doesn't mean we can't talk to them."

"Cliff, may I introduce you to Arendelle's Master Stonemason? I believe Master Ignatius would be very grateful for your help, once I convince him that you're real."

"Why wouldn't I be real? It's you humans that live lives so short you may as well be dreams," Cliff huffed at him before trundling off by Gustav's feet to find the Stonemasons of Arendelle and offer the trolls' assistance for rebuilding the castle, causeway and village.

~###~

Thawing the wave was a much longer, slower process than freezing it in the first place. Several days after she froze the wave, Elsa was standing on a platform she'd created out of ice at the top of a grand staircase, above the wave, her hands raised to begin thawing it. She sent out a snowflake to warn the ice harvesters back before releasing a cloud of blue sparkles that flattened out and glided over the back curve of the wave, leaving the frozen crest intact, even as it freed thousands of gallons to cascade down the ice and into the ocean. Despite their childlike excitement, the ice harvesters had made good suggestions about the thaw pattern that would prevent coastal flooding.

Bern was up here with her, an arm around her waist, his other hand holding hers as she thawed layer after layer of the tidal wave, the sparkles racing away from Arendelle, down the coastline to the next kingdom and beyond, as far as the wave had frozen. She could have done this alone, but it was so much more pleasant to have help that she'd invited Bern along. With much effort, she thawed the water around a capsized ship in such a way that the ship righted itself before being freed from the ice and eventually flowed down and into the ocean, apparently seaworthy again, though there were undoubtedly frozen corpses aboard. Other ships were too far askew, or already damaged by the ice so that they came apart as the thaw freed them.

After a few hours, Elsa announced she needed to stop for lunch. That was when she noticed Bern was squinting, and the corners of his mouth were pinched against the pain.

Down on the ground again, Elsa sent for Milgard, who clucked his tongue over Bern and insisted he go to bed. Bern protested.

"It may take up to a year to recover your stamina, your Highness," Milgard said, without making any effort to soften his opinion. "If you care to push past these warning signs, the other symptoms could also return and you will notice trouble with your memory again, and difficulty speaking."

He nodded, but he looked defeated.

"Bern, please take care of yourself," Elsa said.

"There's so much to do, and I can't help with any of it," he replied.

"I'll take Anna to help me thaw the rest of the wave, and then I'm going to rest too," Elsa said.

"No you won't. You'll work half the night."

"Go to bed, Bern," Elsa said. They'd spent the last several nights camping with the rest of Arendelle in the meadows and foothills around the village while the trolls and stonemasons worked on foundations and walls. Just that afternoon, the stonemasons had said that the castle foundation and walls were sound again and they could move back in. Elsa acknowledged that she was looking forward to some time alone with Bern. Milgard was the only one within earshot, so she settled for whispering. "We'll stay together in my rooms until they can get the royal apartments ready for us. Don't go back to your rooms."

He perked up a bit.

"Go on," Elsa said, and gave him a gentle shove towards Milgard.

"You really won't come in late?"

"Bern, you're the one with the headache tonight. Off you go."

He was smiling when he left.

Elsa sent someone to track down Anna while she ate lunch and then they climbed the stairs to the ice platform again.

"You don't mind that it's me instead of Bern, do you?" Anna asked.

"Mind? Why on earth would I mind?" Elsa asked, noting where the thaw pattern was creating ridges down the back of the wave.

"No reason, really, just that he kind of does everything for you now, including miracles and all that," Anna said with an elaborate shrug.

"Anna, Bern isn't going to replace you," Elsa said, leaving her study of the wave to give Anna her full attention.

"He did already, though," Anna said. "I'm not jealous or anything, and I'm happy you married him, it's just that, well, maybe you don't need me so much anymore."

Elsa searched for words for something that was so obvious to her that she'd never thought she would need to explain it. "Do you have any idea how much I've missed you this summer? The whole time we were in Lingarth, I was wishing you were there because you would have known how to talk to them. I scared them so much they wouldn't even let me leave my room without an escort. If you'd been there, they would have fallen in love with you and I could have basked in your reflected glow and they would have at least liked me. That's how it works in Arendelle too. Everyone loves you first, then you say, 'oh, and here's my strange sister,' and they like me for your sake."

"Elsa, that is not what people think of you!"

"And then you love me so much you don't even notice that's what's going on," Elsa continued.

"Because it isn't going on!"

"We are going to have so much sister time in the next few weeks while we plan your wedding that you'll be begging Bern to take me off your hands," Elsa said, nodding solemnly.

"I will never do that. Kristoff, on the other hand, might beg Bern to take you away. He's got this weird idea that we spent every minute of an entire month together without getting any time alone," Anna said.

"Yes, well, Bern has this weird idea that we had an entire month alone and we may as well have had a chaperone," Elsa said under her breath. Then, before Anna could ask her to repeat it, she said, "Do you want to postpone your wedding while we clean up Arendelle or keep to the original date?"

Anna started laughing. "If you ask Kristoff or Bulda that question, they will insist on the original date, and to move it up if possible. I am so tired of arguing with both of them! Let's just get me married."

Elsa smiled at her. She'd missed Anna's laugh, and Anna's humor and personality and optimism, and every single thing she could think of about her sister. They were going to spend hours and hours together in the next few weeks, and then Kristoff was going to take her away for a honeymoon. Elsa was just a little bit sad about Anna's impending departure when she turned back to the wave to start thawing the next layers. The ice harvesters were clambering around, trying to look officious while they discussed frozen debris and jammed their foot spikes into the wave more deeply.

Anna put her hands over Elsa's, and Elsa released a shimmer of blue sparkles that ran over the back of the wave, then a tiny eddy of sparkles wrapped around Kristoff's feet and dumped him into a hole full of ice water that had just appeared on the frozen wave. He climbed out of it, yelling "hey!" and sputtering at the sudden dunking.

Anna giggled. When the water had run into the ocean, Elsa raised her hands to thaw the next layer, and another eddy of sparkles thawed a circle under Kristoff and dunked him again. This time when he got himself out, he dripped his way towards the platform, hanging onto a belay rope and planting his shoe spikes firmly. "What's going on?"

Anna couldn't speak for giggling.

"It didn't happen when Bern was up here," Elsa pointed out.

She released another round of sparkles, which promptly thawed out Kristoff's footing before running behind him to release another ten thousand gallons of water into the ocean. Anna was laughing so hard she could barely stand, and was pulling Elsa over with her.

"She wouldn't be able to do that if you wanted to stop her," Kristoff said to Elsa.

"That's a big 'if' Kristoff," Elsa said, and froze his feet into the puddle.

"I'm getting down from here," Kristoff said with a scowl as he broke the skim of ice over the puddle.

"Let's help him, Elsa!" Anna said, and grabbed Elsa's hand.

A puff of sparkles gouged out a chute at Kristoff's feet and he went zipping down the wave to get dumped out on Arendelle's beach, yelling the whole way.

It was several minutes before they'd stopped laughing enough to return to thawing out the wave. By that time, the other ice harvesters had prudently decided to follow Kristoff down to the beach without waiting for any further help from Anna.

~###~

By the time a knock at the door woke Elsa the next morning, the sunlight was already peeking around the edges of the curtains in her castle bedroom. She hadn't meant to sleep so late. Pulling on a dressing gown, Elsa answered the door and took the laden breakfast tray from a maid. Gerda must have had the castle staff working through the night to get the kitchens running again so quickly. There were bacon and sausage omelets, oat porridge, a pot of coffee, and three kinds of fruit. Elsa set the tray on her small table and unfolded the note on it. It was a few terse words from Milgard suggesting both of them rest that morning, and Rodmund's more diplomatic assurance that they had accomplished so much yesterday that they wouldn't need either one of them before afternoon.

"Bern? Are you awake?"

"Yes, you just can't tell yet."

"Breakfast."

Bern rubbed his face and got out of bed. He hadn't shaved in a couple of days, which was all the time it took him to grow a full beard and mustache, and he needed a haircut. He was wearing breeches, but no shirt. Elsa thought she had gotten used to seeing him half-dressed when they spent those weeks in Lingarth, but it felt different this morning to watch him get out of her bed and splash water on his face from her washbasin, and know he had a right to be here. She stared for a moment, then busied herself over breakfast, serving out omelets and giving him the peach; she'd noticed he preferred peaches to any other fruit.

He sat down, sliced the peach in half and gave half of it back to her. Their fingers brushed when she accepted it, and her stomach fluttered.

"You came in late last night," he commented.

"The wave was thawed by early evening, but as soon as the harbor was clear, messenger ships began arriving. That was what took so long," Elsa explained.

"Oh?"

Elsa nodded around a mouthful of omelet. "Breiwick sent an affirmation of its friendship, along with a ruby necklace for Anna's wedding gift and a chest of silver coins in gratitude for preventing a flood. Stenneswatt sent its sincere gratitude for saving their kingdom from the tidal wave, and offered favorable terms on the livestock issues Marda and Gustav have been working on for years. The Southern Isles sent Crown Prince Ronald to repudiate the actions of his six brothers, along with the King's offer to pay whatever ransom we name in exchange for peace between our kingdoms. He also strongly hints that the six Princes will be severely censured and were acting without royal approval. But the message from Easthaven is what kept me up half the night. King Frederick sent his most senior ambassador, called home from England, to beg us to accept two chests of silver and gold coins as a ransom for Prince Dominic because Frederick wants to personally attend his execution for high treason. He offers to do whatever it takes to restore the friendship between our countries and assures me that his brother's actions were unforeseen."

Bern was steadily putting away oat porridge and strawberries, but he paused to say, "And do we believe that?"

"No, we do not. We accepted the ransom for Prince Dominic. Gustav is going to send an observer to make sure he is actually executed as King Frederick promises, but we are not restoring relations between our countries. Gustav and Vilrun are already working to end the defense treaty officially. After all, Arendelle is now the most well-armed country in the newly formed Coalition of Shoreline Kingdoms that Dominic put together, and everyone wants a peace treaty with us." Elsa smirked with satisfaction. In public, she was being gracious, but she deserved a private smirk.

"I salute you," Bern said, and saluted.

"The messenger ship from Lingarth brought a long letter from Prince Victor along with an entire set of silver vases as a belated wedding gift for us. He sends you best wishes for your health, and tells us the ships I captured in battle will be here shortly. I've already asked Gustav to see if he can persuade Admiral Theron to accept the position as our fleet admiral and train the sailors and marines in our new navy," Elsa said. "The only difficult decision we have left concerns Weselton, and the thousand soldiers still here whose ships are now wrecks and can't transport them home. I want them gone before Anna's wedding."

Bern swallowed and smiled mischievously. "I dare you to create a ship of the line out of ice and offer it to the Duke as a gift to transport his soldiers and see if he takes it."

Elsa laughed. "He's still squeamish about sorcery."

"Then taking my mother's magic was the nicest thing you could have done for him," Bern said.

"I'm sorry about your mother, Bern," Elsa said.

Bern only nodded. Lady Nadja had descended on the aftermath of the earthquake full of vicious gossip about Bern's connection to the devastation, stirring up people who were already on the edge of hysteria into a panic about the new Prince Consort and how his powers were even more dangerous than their Queen's. By the time Elsa had ordered she be placed under house arrest at her estate until the Duke could take her back to Weselton, the damage had already been done. Elsa had a long talk with Vilrun, with the result that the Castle Guards were actively explaining to people that Bern's ability to disarm anyone with evil intentions towards Arendelle was permanent, and they could look forward to a lifetime of peace. That information, combined with what everyone already knew about Bern, was already starting to turn the tide of public opinion back in his favor.

"I would rather not be a topic of discussion, Elsa. My strongest power only responds to protect you, and so I can't give demonstrations to convince anyone of my control. Let it fade," Bern said.

"I want everyone to know how wonderful you are, Bern."

"As long as you know, that's enough for me."

"Why does it care about me?" Elsa asked. She'd wondered for a week now, but they hadn't had a spare moment to talk.

"It feels responsible for what happened to you," Bern said, trying to pour coffee. Elsa watched him use his fingers to find the rim of the mug, and restrained herself from taking it from him and doing it herself. He didn't spill a drop, and offered her the first mug. "The earth doesn't consider the cave trolls to be much of a threat, and usually ignores them. By the time she realized the cave trolls were harming another being, it was too late to stop them. I suppose this is the earth's way of apologizing."

That made Elsa smile. "A lifetime of peace in Arendelle and a handsome man completely dedicated to my protection? You can tell the earth I accept her apology."

"God cooperated too, you know. The earth wanted to send a human, not a troll, so that got God involved. We can tell him thank you too."

"I already have, but I'll do it again," Elsa promised, sipping coffee and thinking that it would be fine with her if Bern never wore a shirt at breakfast. The mention of God sent Elsa's thoughts mulling in a different direction, and she remembered her trip to the North Mountain. "Bern, do you remember when we were heading down the North Mountain and I told you a few things I'd learned from God? Do you remember I told you he promised a talisman of healing that would be in my life because of my powers? He said I would be so grateful for it that I would accept everything that had happened because it brought this talisman to me."

"I remember. I promised to help you look for it."

"It's you."

Bern set down the coffee cup.

"How could I have missed it? Of course it's you," Elsa said, resting her cheek on her hand with a happy sigh and reaching for his hand. He took it. Under the table, she stroked her toes along his bare foot. He nearly jumped out of the chair. "Are your feet ticklish?"

"No," Bern said, twisting to keep his feet far away from her.

Elsa laughed. "Liar." She went back to his hand and stroked her fingers up his arm.

"Elsa, don't we have a million things to do today?" he asked.

Elsa held up the note on the tray. "Both Milgard and Rodmund tell us to rest this morning. No one needs us until afternoon."

"All right," he said uncertainly and gave her a questioning look.

Elsa stopped playing with his arm. It was her fault Bern didn't know if she desired him, and she owed him more than a few minutes of flirting. "Can I say some things that will make me blush?"

"You're beautiful when you blush."

"I'm glad we married when we did because I needed you so badly this summer, as a husband and not a councilor. But I wasn't ready to be a wife, um, in some ways. You noticed. It was about me and not you, and I'm so sorry I hurt you and pushed you away. I do love you, but I couldn't handle certain things. You are handsome; I am attracted to you, although I wouldn't mind if you shaved," Elsa said, trying to inject some lightness into a very awkward statement.

"I already talked to Kai about finding a valet for me," Bern said, rubbing his beard.

He couldn't see well enough to shave. Elsa was mortified she'd brought it up. "What I'm trying to say is that I would like it very much if we went back to bed and didn't rest like Milgard says we should."

She risked a glance at him and was puzzled by the strange expression on his face, then realized he was trying not to laugh.

He cleared his throat and his hand went to his neck as if he was trying to straighten a tie that wasn't there. "So, if I understand you correctly, your previous objections to being in bed without resting are no longer in force?"

"Do you want to discuss this in the marriage committee?" she said, a little put out that he thought her apology was funny.

He gave up and laughed. "Would you care to submit an item to the agenda?"

"The next time we're in a council meeting and Rodmund asks if you have anything else to submit to the agenda, you're not going to be able to hold a straight face," Elsa said.

"I'll hold a straight face just fine. You'll turn as red as a cranberry," Bern said.

"Bern!" She got up and pulled on his arms until he stood up with her. "Come to bed!"

"And not rest?"

"Yes, fine, don't rest with me." She slipped out of the dressing gown and let it drop on the floor.

"Do you normally sleep in that?" Bern asked, his fingers tracing her bare shoulders. She was only in a thin muslin shift that ended well above her knees.

"Usually I wear a nightgown, but you made the bed hot," Elsa said.

"There are all sorts of advantages to being your only heat source."

Elsa threw a pillow at him.

He tossed the pillow back on the bed and slid his hands under her shift, getting it off before she pulled him into the bed.

They didn't get any rest at all.

* * *

**The next chapter, "Anna's Wedding," is the final chapter. It should be up on Sunday. Whew! Made it! I feel like I'm coming up on the finish line to a marathon.**


	31. Chapter 31 - Anna's Wedding

**Chapter 31 – Anna's Wedding**

"Arendelle – we're even stranger than you thought. That's our new foreign policy slogan, Rodmund," Gustav said, giving a morose look to another crowd of trolls poking around the wedding decorations.

"At least it will be a more sustainable foreign policy than trying to pretend to a degree of normality we can never attain," Rodmund commiserated with him.

Elsa had told Gustav that the four of them and their unique issues were a permanent part of Arendelle, and suggested he come up with a way to accommodate them instead of trying to hide them. After a week of meetings with Anna and Kristoff, Gustav had sent up the white flag of surrender. The flower arrangements included decorative sprays of ice; an ice canopy graced the south meadow; the causeway was still one-third ice; trolls wandered the village while waiting to attend the wedding with the humans; and Elsa had insisted that Bern would light all the torches and braziers when night fell. "The panic has died down, and everyone in Arendelle knows Bern. If they can accept my powers, they can accept his too. Everyone saw me freeze the wave; everyone saw Anna and Kristoff chase off the cave trolls; no one saw that Bern is the reason we will never be attacked again. I plan to make that obvious." Elsa had gotten so queenly about it that Bern didn't even offer a token protest.

"Yes, I suppose our uniqueness might encourage tourism among the sensation-seekers and other flotsam of Europe," Gustav said.

"Ambassador Mircea, how pleasant to see you," Rodmund said, shaking hands with the members of the Romanian delegation who were enjoying the morning.

"Lord High Councilor Rodmund, and Lord Councilor Gustav, the pleasure is ours. I congratulate you on your recent military successes, and upon the marriage of your princess," Ambassador Mircea replied through a thick accent.

"Thank you, Ambassador," Gustav replied.

"I wondered if we might have a word with you after the celebrations are over on a topic of some delicacy," the ambassador continued.

"Certainly," Rodmund agreed.

"Oh?" Gustav left the question open.

The ambassador exchanged a look with one of his staff, and then said, "It appears to us that you have come to an understanding with some of the unusual occurrences and creatures in your country." He paused to look at a pile of trolls who had jumped up three high to talk to a lady about the feathers in her hat.

"Yes, it appears we have," said Gustav.

"Any guidance you might have to offer us would be most welcome. You see, we occasionally encounter dragons in our hinterlands . . . ."

~###~

"Are you nervous?" Bern asked Kristoff as they walked to the castle chapel, Kristoff in his tuxedo and Bern in his formal jacket. In a clean, flat area like the castle courtyard, Bern could walk at a normal pace without worrying he would trip on something he couldn't see. It gave him confidence that he might be able to adjust to his bad eyesight without letting it change his life too much.

"About getting married? No. About Trixie saying something embarrassing in front of the entire country? Yes," Kristoff said.

"Even if she does embarrass you, no one will dare laugh for fear of a volcano or hurricane, or whatever natural disaster you have yet to be given credit for," Bern said.

"Blamed for, is more like it. But now that everyone knows about the trolls, word is spreading I'm as ordinary as the next man. Except for you, I mean."

"Thanks, I think."

Kristoff laughed and punched him in the arm. "You know what they're saying about you in the village?"

"Is that something I should want to know?"

"Lighten up, Bern. You blew everyone's mind and it's taking a while to sink in. But a lifetime guarantee of peace in Arendelle is a pretty incredible feat for a ruler," Kristoff said. "A lot of people who were still nervous about Elsa have given up the doomsaying because of you."

Bern allowed himself half a smile. "I suppose that's something."

"I suppose that's something," Kristoff mimicked. "Come on! Who's ever been able to do something like that?"

They reached the side door to the chapel, avoiding the congregation entering by the main entrance.

"If I tell you something, will you not laugh at me?"

Kristoff agreed.

"I wish the whole incident hadn't been so, well, 'humiliating' might be a good word. I know people think I lost the duel at the first swing because I can't see, but I probably would have lost it that fast even if I could see. I'm not a warrior-king who defeated his enemies fairly on the field of battle and won their respect. I'm not trying to downplay the miracle, but sometimes I wish I could have defeated Dominic and saved Elsa by doing something impressive," Bern said.

Kristoff shook Bern's arm as they reached the door to the chapel sanctuary. "Bern, you're a royal idiot, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. Any fool in the world can fight when he thinks he's got a chance of winning. You walked into Arendelle knowing you were going to lose, and you weren't even scared to do it."

"I was scared," Bern admitted.

"Not to hear Anna tell the story. You've got more courage than any hundred men who do know how to swing a sword."

Bern shook off Kristoff and went up the stairs to the chapel door.

"Hey, Bern. Do you remember I told you once that anything Elsa says gets back to me through Anna?"

"Yeah, I remember that."

"Elsa's the one who said you've got more courage than a hundred men."

"Oh." He stood there with a foolish grin spreading across his face until Kristoff went through the door into the chapel and pulled Bern along with him.

~###~

Anna had said yes to every fluffy suggestion the dressmakers had made, with the result that her wedding dress was bigger than she was. Elsa stayed out of the way as the seamstresses fussed and fidgeted with the silk ruching on the gathered edges of the scallops. Anna wasn't helping them – she kept bouncing in excitement and pulling her skirt out of their hands.

"I think it looks perfect," Elsa said at last.

"Yes, your Majesty," the dressmakers replied, and left off trying to adjust Anna's dress.

"We'll be out in just a minute," Elsa said.

They took the hint and filed out of the room.

"Are you going to have a real wedding dress next summer when you renew your vows with Bern on your first anniversary?" Anna asked, still trying to see herself from every possible angle in the mirror.

"My ice queen dress is all I want," Elsa said.

"But look how fun this is!" Anna stepped up on a low stool and jumped off, making the skirt bell out with a puff of taffeta.

Elsa's gave up her half-formed intention to have a tender, sisterly conversation while Anna was going off like fireworks with excitement.

"Can you believe all the gifts we've gotten? I'm not sure how we'll find places for all those vases though, and what are we going to do with that fourth set of diamond-encrusted teaspoons? Trixie offered to make us an entire set of diamond cookware using the fire crystals they have left, but I can't imagine the castle cooks want to find out how fire crystals would behave in an oven." Anna jumped off the footstool again. "But the gifts coming in for you and Bern win the contest! I just love our new navy."

"That wasn't exactly a gift. I won those ships in battle."

"Still! Prince Victor looked like he'd swallowed a lemon when he turned them over to you. And did you see Prince Ronald's face when he saw all his ships in our harbor and flying Arendelle's flag?" Anna paused to laugh at the memory. "Do you want to know how we ended up with the Crown Prince of the Southern Isles at my wedding? It's Gustav's new foreign policy! We sent an invitation that wasn't one bit diplomatic and told them we're strange and they'd better treat us right if they don't want to lose any more princes or weapons." Anna stopped bouncing to gloat for a moment.

"Anything that can make a Prince of the Southern Isles attempt good manners is effective foreign policy," Elsa said.

"I'm still shocked that they paid the ransom for all six of those princes without even trying to talk down the amount. Ha! That ended our economic crisis," Anna said.

"With money to spare," Elsa said.

"I'm so glad everyone from Corona was able to come after all. I was worried we wouldn't see our cousin. Have you greeted them yet? I haven't had a spare second," Anna said, getting up to twirl and watch her skirt flare.

"They only arrived an hour ago, so I haven't seen them either. Do you want to hear a funny coincidence? Bern has a cousin named Rapunzel too," Elsa said.

"That is funny – that's not a common name," Anna said. "Elsa, are you anywhere near as happy as I am?"

"Yes, I am."

Anna stopped twirling and staggered a step. "Good! Let's go find my groom!"

They found Gustav first. He was waiting for them outside the chapel doors. Elsa went inside to find her place as matron of honor while Anna and Gustav waited for the wedding march to start playing. At the front of the chapel, Kristoff gave her a smile, and bounced a bit. He was picking up more and more of Anna's mannerisms. Bern smiled and nodded at her. She smiled back and wondered if he could see it. His eyes were looking towards her, but she missed being able to connect with him in a glance. Once things settled down, she was going to insist on spectacles, even if he did think they would make him look elderly.

The organist launched into the wedding music, and Gustav paced down the aisle with Anna on his arm, Olaf strewing the aisle with flower petals ahead of them. Elsa could only imagine the amount of self-control it took for Anna to keep to that slow pace rather than running circles around Gustav. Trolls were stacked four high against the chapel walls, and they all whispered with excitement and ignored the shushes from the nearby humans. Anna only stepped on that voluminous skirt once in her walk down the aisle, recovering with a funny hop and a giggle. Elsa let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding when they reached the front of the church and Kristoff took Anna's hand.

The words of the ceremony echoed the words from her own wedding, and Elsa didn't pay any more attention to them this time than she had two months ago when she'd been more interested in studying Bern's expression. She would still rather watch Bern. He was happy – that was plain enough. Sometimes she worried that he might come to regret all that she had cost him, but that wasn't a worry for today.

Anna giggled during the ceremony. Nothing was funny; her happiness overflowed for a moment. Kristoff's mouth curved in a tender smile as he slipped the wedding ring onto her finger. Elsa couldn't see Anna's face, but she imagined that her eyes were as full of adoration as Kristoff's.

They had been lucky, the two of them, to find men who loved them for themselves and not for their rank. Thank goodness for an ice harvester willing to take the risk of a new life, and an economic advisor who was patient enough to outlast her fears.

Bishop Saholt pronounced Kristoff and Anna to be husband and wife, and Kristoff swept Anna up into a kiss as Bulda led a cheer from the trolls in the audience. Elsa cried happy tears for both herself and her sister as Kristoff and Anna joined hands and walked back down the aisle together and out the chapel door into a shower of rice and flower petals.

Bern caught Elsa by the hand and they followed Kristoff and Anna back out into the sunshine, and into a future that looked brighter every minute.

THE END

* * *

**That's all, folks! Or at least, that's all for now. I have notes for a lengthy epilogue (they've got a daughter coming at some point), and a few ideas for lighthearted one-shots that may eventually become an irregularly updated new story: "Postscripts from Queen Elsa's Councilor," but the action and adventure stories are over. I blessed Arendelle with peace. (Thanks, Bern!) And now, the rest of my life wants my full attention. I've been writing "Frozen" almost non-stop for about 16 months now.**

**I owe a huge thank you to my reviewers, particularly ConColor 44, whose enthusiasm and encouragement were always a pick-me-up, and whose advice on military, historical and technical matters was so helpful. Also, Indygirl89, who faithfully reviewed every chapter I've written and whose questions helped me see where I needed to fill in more backstory and explanation. I also appreciate the reviewers who popped in frequently, or the ones who sent PMs. There were many days when a positive comment gave me the energy to get back into a difficult scene and make it work, so thank you.**

**This story was more fun to write because of nirnaeth12's artwork. Thank you for sharing your talent and your friendship. (And anyone who hasn't seen the full resolution versions of these covers yet, they're on deviantart by artist Deidale.)**

**Not that you asked, but the reason no one in the story has a last name is because I was only going to write about 30,000 words to get Frozen out of my system, so the story would be over before my lazy approach to naming characters became obvious. I was off by a factor of ten: I've published 335,000 words in one year (I started writing in April, 2014, but didn't start publishing until July, 2014). I surprised myself. This project has really stretched me as an author. I've never managed to finish an adventure story before, so to write two in one year was pretty exciting for me. I may pull out that original fantasy series I started back in high school and see if I can turn it into something publishable after all.**

**Best wishes and thanks again.**


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